Caudate Nucleus Lesions Impair the Ability of Rats to Learn a Simple Straight-Alley Task

1981 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Kirkby ◽  
Stephen Polgar ◽  
Ian R. Coyle
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Straight Alley ◽  
Learning Deficit

Learning to run down a straight alley for a food reward was investigated in rats with lesions of the telencephalon. Over 84 trials the running latencies of rats with lesions of the caudate nucleus were significantly greater than those of subjects with lesions of the frontal cortex or sham-lesioned rats. The running latencies of the cortical- and the sham-lesioned groups were not significantly different. It was suggested that the performance of the caudotomized rats reflected a learning deficit.

scholarly journals Regionally specific alterations in functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex in major depressive disorder

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 2071-2081 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. Davey ◽  
B. J. Harrison ◽  
M. Yücel ◽  
N. B. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Close Link

BackgroundDepression has been associated with functional alterations in several areas of the cingulate cortex. In this study we have taken a systematic approach to examining how alterations in functional connectivity vary across the functionally diverse subregions of the rostral cingulate cortex.MethodEighteen patients with major depressive disorder, aged 15 to 24 years, were matched with 20 healthy control participants. Using resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI), we systematically investigated the functional connectivity of four subregions of the rostral cingulate cortex. Voxelwise statistical maps of each subregion's connectivity with other brain areas were compared between the patient and control groups.ResultsThe depressed participants showed altered patterns of connectivity with ventral cingulate subregions. They showed increased connectivity between subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsomedial frontal cortex, with connectivity strength showing positive correlation with illness severity. Depressed participants also showed increased connectivity between pregenual ACC and left dorsolateral frontal cortex, and decreased connectivity between pregenual ACC and the caudate nucleus bilaterally.ConclusionsThe results reinforce the importance of subgenual ACC for depression, and show a close link between brain regions that support self-related processes and affective visceromotor function. The pregenual ACC also has an important role, with its increased connectivity with dorsolateral frontal cortex suggesting heightened cognitive regulation of affect; and reduced connectivity with the caudate nucleus potentially underlying symptoms such as anhedonia, reduced motivation and psychomotor dysfunction.

Effects of Medial and Lateral Septal Lesions on the Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect at Short Inter-Trial Intervals

1979 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Feldon ◽  
J. A. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Theta Rhythm ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Straight Alley ◽  
Partial Reinforcement ◽  
Partial Reinforcement Extinction Effect ◽  
Resistance To Extinction ◽  
Electrolytic Lesions ◽  
Medial Septal Area ◽  
Septal Lesions ◽  
Hippocampal Theta

Rats sustained electrolytic lesions either in the medial septal (MS) area (of a kind known to eliminate the hippocampal theta rhythm) or in the dorso-lateral septal (LS) area (of a kind known to spare theta) and were compared to sham-operated controls in three experiments in the straight alley with food reward on continuous (CRF) or partial (PRF) reinforcement and inter-trial intervals of 3-8 min. With 6 acquisition trials MS lesions increased resistance to extinction and enhanced the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE). With 48 acquisition trials MS lesions did not alter resistance to extinction after either CRF or PRF training, but LS lesions abolished the PREE by increasing resistance to extinction in rats trained with CRF and decreasing it in rats trained with PRF. With 96 acquisition trials LS lesions were without effect on resistance to extinction after either CRF or PRF training, as previously reported by Henke (1974) using total septal lesions. Thus the impairment in the PREE previously shown after large septal lesions is due to damage to the lateral, not the medial, septal area.

scholarly journals Impulsive prepotent actions and tics in Tourette disorder underpinned by a common neural network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyril Atkinson-Clement ◽  
Camille-Albane Porte ◽  
Astrid de Liege ◽  
Yanica Klein ◽  
Cecile Delorme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Caudate Nucleus ◽  
Impulse Control ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Tic Severity ◽  
Motor Impulsivity ◽  
The Right ◽  
Tourette Disorder

Abstract Tourette disorder (TD), which is characterized by motor and vocal tics, is not in general considered as a product of impulsivity, despite a frequent association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and impulse control disorders. It is unclear which type of impulsivity, if any, is intrinsically related to TD and specifically to the severity of tics. The waiting type of motor impulsivity, defined as the difficulty to withhold a specific action, shares some common features with tics. In a large group of adult TD patients compared to healthy controls, we assessed waiting motor impulsivity using a behavioral task, as well as structural and functional underpinnings of waiting impulsivity and tics using multi-modal neuroimaging protocol. We found that unmedicated TD patients showed increased waiting impulsivity compared to controls, which was independent of comorbid conditions, but correlated with the severity of tics. Tic severity did not account directly for waiting impulsivity, but this effect was mediated by connectivity between the right orbito-frontal cortex with caudate nucleus bilaterally. Waiting impulsivity in unmedicated patients with TD also correlated with a higher gray matter signal in deep limbic structures, as well as connectivity with cortical and with cerebellar regions on a functional level. Neither behavioral performance nor structural or functional correlates were related to a psychometric measure of impulsivity or impulsive behaviors in general. Overall, the results suggest that waiting impulsivity in TD was related to tic severity, to functional connectivity of orbito-frontal cortex with caudate nucleus and to structural changes within limbic areas.

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