Dissociable effects of anterior and mediodorsal thalamic lesions on spatial goal-directed behavior
Brain Struct Funct. 2014-09-27; 221(1): 79-89
DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0893-7
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1. Brain Struct Funct. 2016 Jan;221(1):79-89. doi: 10.1007/s00429-014-0893-7. Epub
2014 Sep 27.
Dissociable effects of anterior and mediodorsal thalamic lesions on spatial
goal-directed behavior.
Alcaraz F(1)(2), Naneix F(1)(2), Desfosses E(1)(2), Marchand AR(1)(2), Wolff
M(3)(4), Coutureau E(5)(6).
Author information:
(1)UMR 5287, INCIA, CNRS, 33076, Bordeaux, France.
(2)UMR 5287, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaines
(INCIA), CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux-Site Carreire, 146
rue Léo Saignat, BP31, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.
(3)UMR 5287, INCIA, CNRS, 33076, Bordeaux, France. .
(4)UMR 5287, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaines
(INCIA), CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux-Site Carreire, 146
rue Léo Saignat, BP31, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.
.
(5)UMR 5287, INCIA, CNRS, 33076, Bordeaux, France.
.
(6)UMR 5287, Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaines
(INCIA), CNRS/Université de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux-Site Carreire, 146
rue Léo Saignat, BP31, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France.
.
Goal-directed behaviors are thought to be supported by a neural circuit
encompassing the prefrontal cortex, the dorsomedial striatum, the amygdala, and,
as more recently suggested, the limbic thalamus. Since evidence indicates that
the various thalamic nuclei contribute to dissociable functions, we directly
compared the functional contribution of the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) and of the
anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) in a new task assessing spatial goal-directed
behavior in a cross-maze. Rats sustaining lesions of the mediodorsal or the
anterior thalamus were trained to associate each of the two goal arms with a
distinctive food reward. Unlike control rats, both lesioned groups failed to
express a bias for the goal arm corresponding to the non-devalued outcome
following devaluation by sensory-specific satiety. In addition, MD rats were
slower than the other groups to complete the trials. When tested for spatial
working memory using a standard non-matching-to-place procedure in the same
apparatus, ATN rats were severely impaired but MD rats performed as well as
controls, even when spatial or temporal challenges were introduced. Finally, all
groups displayed comparable breaking points in a progressive ratio test,
indicating that the slower choice performance of MD rats did not result from
motivational factors. Thus, a spatial task requiring the integration of
instrumental and Pavlovian contingencies reveals a fundamental deficit of MD rats
in adapting their choice according to goal value. By contrast, the deficit
associated with anterior thalamic lesions appears to simply reflect the inability
to process spatial information.
DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0893-7
PMID: 25260555 [Indexed for MEDLINE]