title: Characterization of the role of adult neurogenesis in touch-screen discrimination learning.
abstract: Recent theories posit that adult neurogenesis supports dentate gyrus pattern separation and hence is necessary for some types of discrimination learning. Using an inducible transgenic mouse model, we investigated the contribution of adult-born neurons to spatial and nonspatial touch-screen discriminations of varying levels of difficulty. Arresting neurogenesis caused a modest but statistically significant impairment in a position discrimination task. However, the effect was present only on trials after a learned discrimination was reversed, suggesting that neurogenesis supports cognitive flexibility rather than spatial discrimination per se. The deficit was present 4-10 weeks after the arrest of neurogenesis but not immediately after, consistent with previous evidence that the behavioral effects of arresting neurogenesis arise because of the depletion of adult-born neurons at least 1 month old. The arrest of neurogenesis failed to affect a nonspatial brightness discrimination task that was equal in difficulty to the spatial task. The data suggest that adult neurogenesis is not strictly necessary for spatial or perceptual discrimination learning and instead implicate adult neurogenesis in factors related to reversal learning, such as cognitive flexibility or proactive interference.
authors: Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors: Alicia A
authors: AA
authors: Swan
authors: Jonathan Edward
authors: JE
authors: Clutton
authors: Priyanka Kesavan
authors: PK
authors: Chary
authors: Sarah G
authors: SG
authors: Cook
authors: Grace G
authors: GG
authors: Liu
authors: Michael R
authors: MR
authors: Drew
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D000089622:Doublecortin Domain Proteins; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000494:pharmacology; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism; D012193:Reversal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D018139:Simplexvirus; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000089622:Doublecortin Domain Proteins; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D014764:Viral Proteins; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; D015774:Ganciclovir
keywords: dentate gyrus; discrimination; neurogenesis; operant conditioning; pattern separation