Eyeblink conditioning in rats using pontine stimulation as a conditioned stimulus |
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Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">John?H?FreemanEmail author Christine?A?Rabinak |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, E11 Seashore Hall, Iowa City, 52242, IA |
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Abstract: | Previous studies using rabbits and ferrets found that electrical stimulation of the pontine nuclei or middle cerebellar peduncle
could serve as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in eyeblink conditioning (Bao, Chen, & Thompson, 2000; Hesslow, Svensson, & Ivarsson,
1999; Steinmetz, 1990; Steinmetz, Lavond, & Thompson, 1985; 1989; Steinmetz et al., 1986; Tracy, Thompson, Krupa, & Thompson,
1998). The current study used electrical stimulation of the pontine nuclei as a CS to establish eyeblink conditioning in rats.
The goals of this study were to develop a method for directly activating the CS pathway in rodents and to compare the neural
circuity underlying eyeblink conditioning in different mammalian species. Rats were given electrical stimulation through a
bipolar electrode implanted in the pontine nuclei paired with a periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus (US). Paired training
was followed by extinction training. A subset of rats was given a test session of paired training after receiving an infusion
of muscimol into the anterior interpositus nucleus. Rats given paired presentations of the stimulation CS and US developed
CRs rapidly and showed extinction. Muscimol infusion prior to the test session resulted in a reversible loss of the eyeblink
CR. The results demonstrate that electrical stimulation of the pontine nuclei can be used as a CS in rodents and that the
CS pathway is similar in rats, rabbits, and ferrets. In addition, the loss of CRs following muscimol inactivation shows that
the conditioning produced with pontine stimulation depends on cerebellar mechanisms. |
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Keywords: | learning memory cerebellum pontine nucleus pontine stimulation |
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