title: Place learning strategy of substantia nigra pars compacta-lesioned rats.
abstract: The substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the dorsal striatum are often considered to be necessary for stimulus-response (S-R) habit learning, whereas the dorsal hippocampus is considered to be necessary for relational (declarative) memory. Spatial learning is a kind of relational learning that occurs when a rat is released from different locations (variable start) in a water maze to find a submerged platform that is kept in a constant location. However, when the rat is always released from the same starting position (constant start), it can learn to find the platform oriented by a fixed configuration of cues, that is, by S-R learning. To test the critical role of the SNc in S-R and relational learning, the authors tested adult male Wistar rats, sham-operated or with a lesion in the SNc, in these 2 versions of the water maze task. The SNc lesion was induced by bilateral intranigral infusion of 0.5 micromol 1-methyl-4-phenyl- 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. Although the SNc-lesioned rats learned the variable-start version as effectively as sham rats did, they were significantly impaired in learning the constant-start version of the task.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. dacunha@ufpr.br
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Da Cunha
authors.forename: Marcio H C
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wietzikoski
authors.forename: Evellyn C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Wietzikoski
authors.forename: Marcelo M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kouzmine
authors.forename: Newton S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Canteras
mesh_terms: D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000293:injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013550:Swimming; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D009498:Neurotoxins; D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine