Effects of substantia nigra and caudate nucleus lesions on avoidance learning in rats.

Abstract

Compared to operated and nonoperated controls, rats with small bilateral lesions in the anteroventral caudate nucleus or the rostral substantia nigra were significantly impaired in the acquisition of one-way active avoidance, passive avoidance requiring the inhibition of the previously acquired oneway response, and shuttle-box avoidance. The animals with nigral lesions took significantly more trials to criterion than the animals with caudate lesions on one-way avoidance. Results were considered in terms of the intimate anatomical and neurochemical relationships between these structures, and a circuit of structures involved in avoidance learning, differing from one previously described, was suggested.

Differential effects of fornix and caudate nucleus lesions on two radial maze tasks: evidence for multiple memory systems

“…This general interpretation may also account for caudateinduced deficits that have been observed in several other tasks, including various avoidance paradigms (Neil1 and Crossman, 1971;Allen et al, 1972;Mitcham and Thomas, 1972;Allen and Davison, 1973;Winocur, 1974;Prado-Acala et al, 1975) cued Morris water maze performances (Whishaw and Kolb, 1984;Whishaw et al, 1987), brightness discrimination (Schwartzbaum and Donovick, 1968) right-left maze discrimination (Cook and Kesner, 1984) and visual/olfactory conditioned emotional responding (Viaud and White, 1989).…”

“…Furthermore, lesions of the caudate nucleus impair the acquisition of several operant tasks, the learning of which is typically unaffected by hippocampal lesions (see O'Keefe and Nadel, 1978). These include various avoidance tasks (Neil1 and Crossman, 197 1;Mitcham and Thomas, 1972;Allen and Davison, 1973;Kirby and Polgar, 1974;Winocur, 1974;Prado-Acala et al, 1975), brightness discrimination (Schwartzbaum and Donovick, 1968), cued Morris water maze performance (Whishaw and Kolb, 1984;Whishaw et al, 1985), and visual/olfactory conditioned emotional responses (Viaud and White, 1989).…”

The ’manipulative response memory system’in the white rat

“…These results provide striking confirmation, at the rodent level, of Rosvold's contention (1968) that the frontal cortex and the caudate nucleus comprise a functional system to the extent that behavioral deficits induced by lesions of one are duplicable by lesions of the other. On the other hand, the notion that the substantia nigra and the caudate nucleus constitute a similarly organized functional system (Mitcham & Thomas, 1972;Ungerstedt, 1971) may have to be qualified. With respect to retention of visual discrimination habits, for example, extensive damage to the caudate nucleus has only slight effects when compared to those induced by nigral damage (Thompson, 1969).…”

“…Other components of the CARMS include the sensorimotor cortex (Thompson, 1964), elements of the limbic system, such as the cingulate cortex, hippocampus, septal area, and amygdala (Rich & Thompson, 1965), virtually all nuclei of the medial and anterior thalamus (Rich and Thompson, 1965), and probably the corpus striatum (Mitcham & Thomas, 1972) and cerebellum.…”

Comments on Kirkby and Polgar’s interpretation of caudate nucleus function

“…These animals performed as well as controls but subsequent experiments by Neill and Grossman (1970), Winocur (1974), and most recently by Kirkby and Polgar (1974), involving essentially the same task have produced data contradictory to the results of Albert and Bignami. Lesions placed more ventrally in the structure will also impair two-way AC (Mitcham & Thomas, 1972), but it should be emphasized that the respective contributions of antero-dorsal and postero-ventral caudate regions are quite different (Winocur, 1974).…”