Lesions of the Caudal Area of Rabbit Medial Prefrontal Cortex Impair Trace Eyeblink Conditioning

doi:10.1006/nlme.1997.3818

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Volume 69, Issue 2, March 1998, Pages 147-162

https://doi.org/10.1006/nlme.1997.3818 Get rights and content

Abstract

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the primate is an area known to be important for memory. Since the discovery of a homologous area in subprimate mammals, the caudal medial prefrontal cortex, rabbits have become useful in the investigation of working memory. The subprimate prefrontal cortex is intimately interconnected with the hippocampus, which is also recognized for its role in learning and memory. In addition, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex have been shown to be similarly involved in a variety of tasks. Therefore, we hypothesized that the caudal medial prefrontal cortex of the rabbit would be necessary for acquisition of the hippocampally dependent trace eyeblink conditioning task. A total of 16 young rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) received bilateral aspiration lesions of the prefrontal cortex. Six of the lesioned subjects were unable to acquire the trace eyeblink conditioning task, but were unimpaired when tested subsequently in the hippocampally independent delay conditioning task. The lesions of these 6 subjects either were limited to or extended into the caudal medial prefrontal cortex. In the remaining 10 subjects, which were not impaired in trace conditioning, the lesions were limited to the rostral pole. Our results support our original hypothesis and provide further evidence of the involvement of the subprimate caudal medial prefrontal cortex in learning.

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^☆: This work was supported by NIH MH47340 and NIH F32MH10837.

^☆☆: Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. John F. Disterhoft, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60611-3008. Fax: (312) 503-2090. E-mail:[email protected].

^★: I. GormezanoE. A. Wasserman

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Regular ArticleLesions of the Caudal Area of Rabbit Medial Prefrontal Cortex Impair Trace Eyeblink Conditioning☆,☆☆,★

Abstract

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Journal of Neuroscience Methods

Neuropsychologia

Brain Research

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System properties of the hippocampus

Learning and memory: The behavioral and biological substrates

Single-unit analysis of different hippocampal cell types during classical conditioning of rabbit nictitating membrane response

Journal of Neurophysiology

Single unit analysis of hippocampal pyramidal and granule cells during classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response

Differential and reversal Pavlovian conditioning in rabbits with mediodorsal thalamic lesions: Assessment of heart rate and eyeblink responses

Experimental Brain Research

Lesions of the limbic thalamus differentially impair Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning under nonoptimal parametric conditions

Society for Neuroscience Abstracts

Lesions of the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus and classical eyeblink conditioning under less-than-optimal stimulus conditions: Role of partial reinforcement and interstimulus interval

Behavioral Neuroscience

Regular Article
Lesions of the Caudal Area of Rabbit Medial Prefrontal Cortex Impair Trace Eyeblink Conditioning☆,☆☆,★