Wallace DG, Winter SS, Martin MM, Mcmillin JL (2008) 192-IgG Saporin lesions of the medial septum or nucleus basalis magnocellularis disrupt exploratory trip organization. Neuroscience 2008 Abstracts 90.15/SS57. Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.
Summary: Previous work has demonstrated that rats use self-movement cues to organize their exploratory behavior. The hippocampus and several cortical areas have been implicated in processing self-movement cues. The current study investigated whether selective cholinergic deafferentation of the hippocampus or cortex differentially influenced the organization of exploratory behavior. Long Evans female rats received injections of 192 IgG-Saporin or saline into the medial septum (MS) or nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NB). Subsequent to recovery, rats were placed on a large circular table that provided access to a refuge under complete dark conditions (infrared cameras and goggles were used to visualize the rat). All rats established a home base in the refuge; however, impairments in exploratory trip organization specific to the homeward segment were observed in MS and NB rats. Both groups displayed increased variability in the temporal pacing of speeds on the homeward return, consistent with impaired distance estimation. Only the NB group displayed a significant reduction in stop duration after short, medium, and long searching progressions. These observations are consistent with different roles for hippocampal and cortical cholinergic function in processing self-movement cues.
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)