Localization of the cerebellar cortical zone mediating acquisition of eyeblink conditioning in rats

Adam B Steinmetz; John H Freeman

doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2014.06.003

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Localization of the cerebellar cortical zone mediating acquisition of eyeblink conditioning in rats

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Localization of the cerebellar cortical zone mediating acquisition of eyeblink conditioning in rats

Adam B Steinmetz and John H Freeman

Neurobiology of learning and memory, Vol.114, pp.148-154

10/2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.06.003

PMCID: PMC4143471

PMID: 24931828

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/4143471View

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Abstract

Delay eyeblink conditioning is established by paired presentations of a conditioned stimulus (CS) such as a tone or light and an unconditioned stimulus (US) that elicits eyelid closure before training. The CS and US inputs converge on Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. The cerebellar cortex plays a substantial role in acquisition of delay eyeblink conditioning in rabbits and rodents, but the specific area of the cortex that is necessary for acquisition in rodents has not been identified. A recent study identified an eyeblink microzone in the mouse cerebellar cortex at the base of the primary fissure (Heiney, Kim, Augustine, & Medina, 2014). There is no evidence that the cortex in this eyeblink microzone plays a role in rodent eyeblink conditioning but it is a good candidate region. Experiment 1 examined the effects of unilateral (ipsilateral to the US) lesions of lobule HVI, the lateral anterior lobe, or the base of the primary fissure on eyeblink conditioning in rats. Lesions of either the anterior lobe or lobule HVI impaired acquisition, but lesions of the base of the primary fissure produced the largest deficit. Experiment 2 used reversible inactivation with muscimol to demonstrate that inactivation of the putative eyeblink microzone severely impaired acquisition and had only a modest effect on retention of eyeblink conditioning. The findings indicate that the base of the primary fissure is the critical zone of the cerebellar cortex for acquisition of eyeblink conditioning in rats.

Conditioning, Eyelid - physiology

Muscimol - pharmacology

Animals

Cerebellar Cortex - drug effects

GABA-A Receptor Agonists - pharmacology

Rats, Long-Evans

Rats

Male

Cerebellar Cortex - physiology

Conditioning, Eyelid - drug effects

Details

Title: Subtitle: Localization of the cerebellar cortical zone mediating acquisition of eyeblink conditioning in rats
Creators: Adam B Steinmetz - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
John H Freeman - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. Electronic address: john-freeman@uiowa.edu
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Neurobiology of learning and memory, Vol.114, pp.148-154
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.06.003
PMID: 24931828
PMCID: PMC4143471
NLM abbreviation: Neurobiol Learn Mem
ISSN: 1074-7427
eISSN: 1095-9564
Publisher: United States
Grant note: R01 MH080005 / NIMH NIH HHS MH080005 / NIMH NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 10/2014
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984065754102771

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