title: Effects of nucleus basalis magnocellularis stimulation on a socially transmitted food preference and c-Fos expression.
abstract: Experiment 1 examined the effects of electrical stimulation of nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) on a relational odor-association task--the social transmission of food preference (STFP). Rats were stimulated unilaterally in the NBM for 20 min (100 microA, 1 Hz) immediately before the social training. They were tested on their ability to remember preference for the trained food either immediately or following a 24-h delay. Stimulation of NBM improved retention regardless of delay, and additional behavioral measures (social interaction, motor activity, or exploration) did not account for such effects. Experiment 2 investigated brain regions activated after NBM electrical stimulation by examining the induction of c-Fos. This treatment led to bilateral increased c-Fos expression in prefrontal regions, such as orbitofrontal, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortices, and some hippocampal subregions (dorsal CA and ventral dentate gyrus). In contrast, no differences between groups in c-Fos expression were found in basolateral amygdala, dorsal dentate gyrus, ventral CA, or ventral subiculum. Present findings indicate that pretraining NBM electrical stimulation facilitates the acquisition of STFP, supporting a role of NBM in the early stages of memory formation, and suggest that the treatment might cause such effects by inducing neural changes, related to transcription factors such as c-Fos, in the prefrontal cortex or the hippocampal formation.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Psicobiologia i Metodologia de les Ciències de la Salut Institut de Neurociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boix-Trelis
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vale-Martínez
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guillazo-Blanch
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Costa-Miserachs
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martí-Nicolovius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D020532:Basal Nucleus of Meynert / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D012931:Social Environment
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos