title: Neonatal 192 IgG-saporin lesions of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons selectively impair response to spatial novelty in adult rats.
abstract: The role of the developing cholinergic basal forebrain system on cognitive behaviors was examined in 7 day-old rats by giving lesions with intraventricular injections of 192 IgG-saporin or saline. Rats were subjected to passive avoidance on postnatal days (PND) 22-23, water maze testing on PND 50-60, and a open-field test (in which reactions to spatial and object novelty were measured) on PND 54. Behavioral effects of the lesions were evident only in the open-field test with 5 objects. Unlike controls, the lesioned rats did not detect a spatial change after a displacement of 2 of the 5 objects. Control and lesioned rats, however, showed comparable novelty responses to an unfamiliar object. Lesion effectiveness was confirmed by 75% and 84% decreases in choline acetyltransferase activity in cortex and hippocampus. These results suggest that the developing cholinergic system may be involved in spatial information processing or attention to spatial modifications.
authors.affiliation: Section of Comparative Psychology, Laboratorio di Fisiopatologia di Organo e di Sistema, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. lricceri@iss.it
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricceri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Usiello
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valanzano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calamandrei
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frick
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Berger-Sweeney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018678:Cholinergic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D000922:Immunotoxins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1; D000076985:Saporins; D013028:Space Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C085696:192 IgG-saporin; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018678:Cholinergic Agents; D000922:Immunotoxins; D054789:Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, Type 1; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D000076985:Saporins