Mediodorsal but not anterior thalamic nuclei lesions impair acquisition of a conditional discrimination task
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 2015-11-01; 125: 80-84
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.07.018
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1. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2015 Nov;125:80-4. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.07.018. Epub 2015
Aug 5.
Mediodorsal but not anterior thalamic nuclei lesions impair acquisition of a
conditional discrimination task.
Wolff M(1), Faugère A(2), Desfosses É(2), Coutureau É(2), Marchand AR(3).
Author information:
(1)CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, INCIA,
UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France. Electronic address:
.
(2)CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, INCIA,
UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France.
(3)CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France; Université de Bordeaux, INCIA,
UMR 5287, 33076 Bordeaux, France. Electronic address:
.
The limbic thalamus is a heterogeneous structure with distinctive cortical
connectivity. A recent review suggests that the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus
(MD), unlike the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN), may be involved in selecting
relevant information in tasks relying on executive functions. We compared the
effects of excitotoxic lesions of the MD or the ATN on the acquisition of a
simple conditional discrimination in rats. When required to choose from two
levers according to auditory or visual cues, ATN rats and sham-lesioned rats
performed to the same levels and displayed similar acquisition curves. Under the
same conditions, MD rats’ acquisition of the task was markedly delayed. This
group nevertheless attained nearly normal performances after more extensive
training. Furthermore, all rats learned reversal of the original discrimination
at the same rate. These results highlight functional specialization within the
limbic thalamus and support the notion that MD contributes to the identification
of relevant dimensions in conditional tasks during the initial stages of
acquisition.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2015.07.018
PMID: 26254715