Eyeblink conditioning in 12-day-old rats using pontine stimulation as the conditioned stimulus

Matthew M Campolattaro; John H Freeman

doi:10.1073/pnas.0712006105

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Eyeblink conditioning in 12-day-old rats using pontine stimulation as the conditioned stimulus

Journal article

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Eyeblink conditioning in 12-day-old rats using pontine stimulation as the conditioned stimulus

Matthew M Campolattaro and John H Freeman

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.105(23), pp.8120-8123

06/10/2008

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0712006105

PMCID: PMC2430369

PMID: 18523018

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Abstract

A fundamental issue in developmental science is whether ontogenetic changes in memory are caused by the development of cellular plasticity mechanisms within the brain's memory systems or maturation of sensory inputs to the memory systems. Here, we provide evidence that the development of eyeblink conditioning, a form of associative learning that depends on the cerebellum, is driven by the development of sensory inputs rather than the development of neuronal plasticity mechanisms. We find that rats as young as 12 days old show associative eyeblink conditioning when pontine stimulation is used in place of an external (e.g., a tone) conditioned stimulus. Eyeblink-conditioned responses established with pontine stimulation in 12-day-old rats were reversibly abolished by an infusion of muscimol into the cerebellar interpositus nucleus. The findings suggest that cerebellar neurons are capable of supporting associative learning-specific plasticity in vivo in very immature animals if given sufficient afferent stimulation.

Biological Sciences

learning

memory

cerebellum

eyelid conditioning

Details

Title: Subtitle: Eyeblink conditioning in 12-day-old rats using pontine stimulation as the conditioned stimulus
Creators: Matthew M Campolattaro - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, E11 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242
John H Freeman - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, E11 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.105(23), pp.8120-8123
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0712006105
PMID: 18523018
PMCID: PMC2430369
NLM abbreviation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN: 0027-8424
eISSN: 1091-6490
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
Language: English
Date published: 06/10/2008
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984065752202771

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