Superior colliculus lesions and environmental experience: Nonvisual effects on problem solving and locomotor activity

Weldon, Douglas A.; Smith, Charles J.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(79)90137-9

Cited by 29 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…When more general aspects are considerd (e.g., regarding learning and memory, acquiring potentially important information), the inevitable involvement of higher, integrated mechanisms calls for a more comprehensive model of the kind we propose. It should be noted, however, that Murison (1977), Collin (1977), and Weldon and Smith (1979) obtained hyperactivity in bilateral SCs and ipsiversive rotation in unilateral SCs tested in darkness; and ipserversive turning occurs in enucleated rats with unilateral SC lesions (Cooper, Bland, Gillespie & Whittacker 1970). These results do not fit with Isaac's general thesis.…”

Section: Global Brain Modelsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…However, limited recovery seems to occur when mature rats are given SC lesions. Weldon and Smith (1979) found small, ameliorative effects of complex preoperative housing on the SCs' Hebb-Williams maze performance, but locomotor hyperactivity was enhanced. Sensorimotor improvement in neonatally lesioned kittens may result from "substitution mechanisms by alternative neuronal pools" (Flandrin & Jeannerod 1977), although Heywood and Cowey (1985) think that recovery, where it occurs, is restricted to strategy use rather than to aberrant connections or neural reorganisations.…”

Section: Recovery Of Functionmentioning

confidence: 85%

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Relationships between the superior colliculus and hippocampus: Neural and behavioral considerations

Foreman

Stevens

1987

Behav Brain Sci

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Theories of superior collicular and hippocampal function have remarkable similarities. Both structures have been repeatedly implicated in spatial and attentional behaviour and in inhibitory control of locomotion. Moreover, they share certain electrophysiological properties in their single unit responses and in the synchronous appearance and disappearance of slow wave activity. Both are phylogenetically old and the colliculus projects strongly to brainstem nuclei instrumental in the generation of theta rhythm in the hippocampal EECOn the other hand, close inspection of behavioural and electrophysiological data reveals disparities. In particular, hippocampal processing mainly concerns stimulus ambiguity, contextual significance, and spatial relations or other subtle, higher order characteristics. This requires the use of largely preprocessed sensory information and mediation of poststimulus investigation. Although collicular activity must also be integrated with that of “higher” centres (probably to a varying degree, depending on the nature of stimuli being processed and the task requirements), its primary role in attention is more “peripheral” and specific in controlling orienting/localisation via eye and body movements toward egocentrically labelled spatial positions. In addition, the colliculus may exert a nonspecific influence in alerting higher centres to the imminence of information potentially worthy of focal attention. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that collicular and hippocampal lesions produce deficits on similar tasks, although the type of deficit is usually different (often opposite) in each case. Functional overlap between hippocampus and colliculus (i.e., strategically synchronised or mutually interdependent activity) is virtually certain vis-à-vis stimulus sampling, for example in the acquisition of information via vibrissal movements and visual scanning. In addition, insofar as stimulus significance is a factor in collicular orienting mechanisms, the hippocampus — cingulate – cortex — colliculus pathway may play a significant role, modulating collicular responsiveness and thus ensuring an attentional strategy appropriate to current requirements (stimulus familiarity, stage of learning). A tentative “reciprocal loop” model is proposed which bridges physiological and behavioural levels of analysis and which would account for the observed degree and nature of functional overlap between the superior colliculus and hippocampus.

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Section: Global Brain Modelsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Recovery Of Functionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Relationships between the superior colliculus and hippocampus: Neural and behavioral considerations

Foreman

Stevens

1987

Behav Brain Sci

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“…However, this effect might have been the result of differences between the two rearing groups in exploratory activity. That is, some researchers have reported that enriched rats show higher levels of exploratory activity than standard rats when they are first placed in an open field (Studelska & Kemble, 1979;Weldon & Smith, 1979;Woodcock, 1994). Increased exploratory activity within the conditioning chamber prior to shock would expose the rats to more environmental cues, which would enable a more complex representation to be formed and subsequently increase freezing during test.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Rate of Contextual Processing and Discriminative Ability in Adult Rats

Woodcock

Richardson

2000

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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“…The superior colliculus is involved in the control of eye movements (Stein, Goldberg, & Clamann, 1976) and visually guided behavior in the cat (Sprague, Berlucci, & DiBernardino, 1970) and rat (Pope & Dean, 1979;Weldon & Smith, 1979). Cells in this area also respond to tactile (Nagata & Kruger, 1979) and noxious stimuli (Stein & Dixon, 1978).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taming of wild Rattus norvegicus by lesions of the mesencephalic central gray

et al. 1981

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Wild-trapped Rattus norvegicus show a consistent pattern of fear and defensive behavior to nonpainful stimuli such as an approaching experimenter, an anesthetized conspecific, or tactile stimulation of the back and vibrassae, as well as to painful stimuli. This reactivity to a range of stimuli, and the different behaviors by which such fear or defensiveness may be expressed, including flight, freezing, vocalization, the jump-attack, and specific biting patterns, make wild rats very appropriate subjects for the analysis of brain mechanisms underlying fear. Lesions of the mesencephalic central gray dramatically lowered these defensive reactions to both painful and nonpainful threat stimuli, reducing or eliminating each of the defensive reactions measured. The subjects showed no evidence of significant motor impairment or disturbance of primary sensory mechanisms. Because these experimental lesions involved considerable damage to the superior colliculi, a second study used wild rats with qamage only to the colliculi. These animals displayed some deficits in visually guided behavior and in reactivity to certain tactile stimuli, but most of their fear reactions were intact. These findings suggest that the mesencephalic central gray, traditionally regarded as involved in reactivity to pain, may be one component of a mechanism underlying fear and defensive behaviors to nonpainful as well as noxious stimuli.

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Superior colliculus lesions and environmental experience: Nonvisual effects on problem solving and locomotor activity

Cited by 29 publications

References 58 publications

Relationships between the superior colliculus and hippocampus: Neural and behavioral considerations

Relationships between the superior colliculus and hippocampus: Neural and behavioral considerations

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Rate of Contextual Processing and Discriminative Ability in Adult Rats

Taming of wild Rattus norvegicus by lesions of the mesencephalic central gray

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