Impact of Degeneration of the Prelimbic and Infralimbic Cortices on Psychomotor Activity and Cognitive Func-tion in Rats Stereotaxically Injected with Ibotenate

Abstract

Background:Little is understood about how mild cognitive impairment affects motor function (MCI). Memory and psychomotor functions are assumed to be regulated by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The mPFC consists of a total of three distinct subareas. Thus, the purpose of this work was to specifically damage the prelimbic (PrL) and infralimbic (IFL) subareas utilizing a rodent stereotaxis injection of a relatively low dose of ibotenate. Aim: to investigate the impact of the PrL and IFL subareas lesions on psychomotor activities and memory among stereotaxically injected rats with ibotenate. Materials and Methods: For this study, a total of 36 white albino rats were employed. Three groups were designed: the normal control group (GI), the bilateral sham group (GII) which included injected rats with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the PrL and IL subareas, and the bilateral lesioned group (GIII) which included injected rats with ibotenate in the PrL and IL cortices. Then rats were undergone through the open field test (OFT) and hole board test (HB). Transcardial perfusion and brain extraction for tissue preparation and histological evaluation were done at the end of the experiment. Results: the group with bilateral PrL and IFL lesions had intact psychomotor functions and spatial reference memory, but they started to lose short-term memory. Conclusions: PrL and IFL subareas of the mPFC degeneration don't impair psychomotor functions or spatial reference memory but can impact short-term memory in rats.