title: Differential involvement of the dorsal anterior cingulate and prelimbic-infralimbic areas of the rodent prefrontal cortex in spatial working memory.
abstract: The present study examined the effects of quinolinic acid lesions of the dorsal anterior cingulate and prelimbic-infralimbic cortices on spatial working memory and spatial discrimination using go/no-go procedures. All testing occurred in a 12-arm radial maze. In a working memory task, rats were allowed to enter 12 arms for a cereal reward. Three or 4 arms were presented for a 2nd time in a session, which did not result in a reward. In a spatial discrimination task, rats had successive access to 2 different arms. One arm always contained a reward, and the other never contained a reward. Prelimbic-infralimbic lesions impaired spatial working memory but only produced a transient spatial discrimination deficit. Dorsal anterior cingulate lesions did not induce a deficit in either task. These findings suggest that the prelimbic-infralimbic cortices, but not the anterior cingulate cortex, are important in spatial working memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ragozzino
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Kesner
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002541:Cerebral Decortication / Q000009:adverse effects; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*