title: Hippocampal-prefrontal cortical circuit mediates inhibitory response control in the rat.
abstract: We investigated the interdependent function of the ventral hippocampus (vHC) and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) in visuospatial attention and inhibitory control using a disconnection lesion approach. Rats were trained, and several aspects of their cognitive performance tested on the 5-choice reaction time task. The animals were prepared with unilateral lesions of both the vPFC and vHC, either in the same hemisphere ("ipsilateral") or in opposite hemispheres ("disconnection"). The disconnection lesion led to both impulsive and compulsive behavior. This deficit is reminiscent of the effects of either bilateral vPFC or bilateral vHC lesions on the same task and is thought to reflect the bihemispheric disruption of the hippocampal-prefrontal circuit. With ipsilateral lesions, behavioral deficits were transient or absent altogether, suggesting that the intact hemisphere was able to exert near normal levels of behavioral control. These behavioral effects were observed in the absence of any changes to visual attention, speed of response, or general motivation. This study provides evidence that optimal inhibitory control of behavior draws upon the functional interaction between the vHC and vPFC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada. yogita.chudasama@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Yogita
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chudasama
authors.forename: Victoria M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Doobay
authors.forename: Yuchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / Q000633:toxicity; D005508:Food Deprivation; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000633:toxicity; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018690:Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; D016202:N-Methylaspartate