The variability of the interaural line vs the stability of bregma in rat stereotaxic surgery

Whishaw, Ian Q.; Cioe, Jan; Previsich, Nick; Kolb, Bryan

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(77)90304-3

Cited by 95 publications

(40 citation statements)

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“…The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic carprofen (0.05 ml/rat; 5 % w/v; Rimadyl Pfizer Ltd, Kent, UK) was administered subcutaneously before the scalp was shaved and a midline incision made. The incisor bar of the stereotaxic frame was adjusted such that the angle between the incisor bar and the interaural line was 8°29 0 , achieved by multiplying the distance between the IAL and the back of the incisors by the sine of 8°29 0 as described by Whishaw et al (1977). Two craniotomies were made to allow infusion into the pPPTg at the co-ordinate: -0.8 mm from IAL; ±1.9 mm from midline; -6.5 mm from dura.…”

Section: Surgerymentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective lesions of the cholinergic neurons within the posterior pedunculopontine do not alter operant learning or nicotine sensitization

2015

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Cholinergic neurons within the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus have been implicated in a range of functions, including behavioral state control, attention, and modulation of midbrain and basal ganglia systems. Previous experiments with excitotoxic lesions have found persistent learning impairment and altered response to nicotine following lesion of the posterior component of the PPTg (pPPTg). These effects have been attributed to disrupted input to midbrain dopamine systems, particularly the ventral tegmental area. The pPPTg contains a dense collection of cholinergic neurons and also large numbers of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. Because these interdigitated populations of neurons are all susceptible to excitotoxins, the effects of such lesions cannot be attributed to one neuronal population. We wished to assess whether the learning impairments and altered responses to nicotine in excitotoxic PPTg-lesioned rats were due to loss of cholinergic neurons within the pPPTg. Selective depletion of cholinergic pPPTg neurons is achievable with the fusion toxin Dtx-UII, which targets UII receptors expressed only by cholinergic neurons in this region. Rats bearing bilateral lesions of cholinergic pPPTg neurons (>90% ChAT+ neuronal loss) displayed no deficits in the learning or performance of fixed and variable ratio schedules of reinforcement for pellet reward. Separate rats with the same lesions had a normal locomotor response to nicotine and furthermore sensitized to repeated administration of nicotine at the same rate as sham controls. Previously seen changes in these behaviors following excitotoxic pPPTg lesions cannot be attributed solely to loss of cholinergic neurons. These findings indicate that non-cholinergic neurons within the pPPTg are responsible for the learning deficits and altered responses to nicotine seen after excitotoxic lesions. The functions of cholinergic neurons may be related to behavioral state control and attention rather than learning.

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Section: Surgerymentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective lesions of the cholinergic neurons within the posterior pedunculopontine do not alter operant learning or nicotine sensitization

2015

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“…Briefly, a medial incision was made over the skull, and a burr hole (Ø = 1 mm) was drilled to allow vertical access to the cerebellum. The coordinates were 10.2 mm posterior to and 1.2 mm to the right of the bregma, and 1 mm below the duramater surface, according to the method of Pellegrino et al (1979) and the corrections of Whishaw et al (1977) for rats >320 g. The guide was secured to the skull with miniature screws and dental cement, and the skin was sutured. Animals were allowed to recover for 24-48 h in their cages with free access to pellet food and water.…”

Section: Y-maze Learning Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

The function of the glutamate–nitric oxide–cGMP pathway in brain in vivo and learning ability decrease in parallel in mature compared with young rats

Piedrafita¹,

Cauli²,

Montoliú³

et al. 2007

Learn. Mem.

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Aging is associated with cognitive impairment, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We have recently reported that the ability of rats to learn a Y-maze conditional discrimination task depends on the function of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway in brain. The aims of the present work were to assess whether the ability of rats to learn this task decreases with age and whether this reduction is associated with a decreased function of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway in brain in vivo, as analyzed by microdialysis in freely moving rats. We show that 7-mo-old rats need significantly more (192 ± 64%) trials than do 3-mo-old rats to learn the Y-maze task. Moreover, the function of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway is reduced by 60 ± 23% in 7-mo-old rats compared with 3-mo-old rats. The results reported support the idea that the reduction in the ability to learn the Y-maze task (and likely other types of learning) of mature compared with young rats would be a consequence of reduced function of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway.Aging is associated with cognitive impairment, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The molecular bases for different types of learning are not well known. NMDA receptors play a crucial role in some types of learning. Activation of NMDA receptors leads to increased calcium in the post-synaptic neuron. Calcium binds to calmodulin and activates neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in those neurons, which express both the NMDA receptors and this enzyme, increasing nitric oxide (NO). NO, in turn, activates soluble guanylate cyclase, increasing cGMP. Part of this cGMP is released to the extracellular fluid through cGMP transporters present in the cell membrane (Sager 2004).Several reports indicate that activation of this glutamate-NO-cGMP pathway is involved in some forms of learning (Danysz et al. 1995;Chen et al. 1997;Meyer et al. 1998). NO seems to mediate at least part of the role of NMDA receptors in learning. This is supported by studies showing that inhibition of NO synthase reduces learning of some spatial tasks (Ingram et al. 1998a,b;Zou et al. 1998) The role of NO in learning may be mediated by its activation of soluble guanylate cyclase and the increase in cGMP. Some reports indicate that soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP are important in learning and memory. Bernabeu et al. (1996Bernabeu et al. ( , 1997 showed that, in rats, passive avoidance learning was associated with a time-dependent, learning-specific increase in cGMP (Bernabeu et al. 1996) and in cGMP-dependent protein kinase activity in hippocampus (Bernabeu et al. 1997) The same group also showed that administration of a membrane permeable analog of cGMP facilitated memory consolidation (Bernabeu et al. 1996), while bilateral intrahippocampal administration of an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase caused full amnesia for inhibitory avoidance learning when given immediately after training (Bernabeu et al. 1997). These data indicate that the increase in cGMP produced by guanylate cycla...

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“…The animals were anesthetized with isoflurane (Forene s , Abbott, USA) and placed in a stereotaxic frame with the tooth bar higher than the ear bars to correspond to the stereotaxic atlas of Pellegrino et al (1979). Since this atlas is based on rats weighing between 250 and 350 g, and as the weights of our animals at the time of operation were above this range, the elevation of the tooth bar above ear bars was adjusted according to a formula (Whishaw et al, 1977), which maintains the skull at the correct angle for the stereotaxic atlas. Bilateral electrolytic lesion of the habenular nuclei (lateral plus medial) was performed with stainless-steel electrodes (00 gauge insect pins, Emil Arlt, Vienna, Austria; insulated except at the tip) by passage of a DC current of 1 mA for 15 s through the anode in the brain and a saline-soaked cotton swab on the tail as cathode.…”

Section: Surgical Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bilateral Lesions of the Habenula Induce Attentional Disturbances in Rats

Lecourtier

Kelly

2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The habenular nuclear complex is a major influence on brainstem cell groups that influence attention, but its role in attentional performance has not previously been explored. The present study investigated how habenula lesions affect attentional function as assessed by the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) in male Lister-Hooded rats. Rats were pretrained in the 5-CSRTT before receiving discrete bilateral lesions of the habenula or a sham procedure. In test sessions immediately following recovery from surgery, lesioned rats showed a marked increase in premature responding. Over the course of testing this increase of premature responding declined in magnitude. In contrast, choice accuracy showed no impairment during the earliest postsurgery test sessions but progressively deteriorated over the course of testing. These opposite time courses strongly imply that different mechanisms mediate these two effects of the habenula lesion. Differential effects of drug treatment on these effects further supported this view. Thus, D-amphetamine (0.2 mg/ kg s.c.) increased premature responding without affecting choice accuracy. On the other hand, haloperidol (0.01-0.03 mg/kg i.p.) decreased premature responding without significantly affecting choice accuracy. The results are consistent with the view that elevated premature responding in habenula-lesioned animals is mediated by increased dopaminergic activity, whereas impaired choice accuracy is not. Implications of these findings for the hypothesis that habenula dysfunction is involved in cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are discussed.

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The variability of the interaural line vs the stability of bregma in rat stereotaxic surgery

Cited by 95 publications

References 1 publication

Selective lesions of the cholinergic neurons within the posterior pedunculopontine do not alter operant learning or nicotine sensitization

Selective lesions of the cholinergic neurons within the posterior pedunculopontine do not alter operant learning or nicotine sensitization

The function of the glutamate–nitric oxide–cGMP pathway in brain in vivo and learning ability decrease in parallel in mature compared with young rats

Bilateral Lesions of the Habenula Induce Attentional Disturbances in Rats

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