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Whisker-signaled Eyeblink Classical Conditioning in Head-fixed Mice
Published on: March 30, 2016
Cortical barrel lesions impair whisker-CS trace eyeblink conditioning
Roberto Galvez1, Aldis P Weible, John F Disterhoft
1Department of Physiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
|February 3, 2007
Summary
The whisker barrel cortex is crucial for learning and remembering trace eyeblink conditioning. Lesioning this brain area impairs both the acquisition and recall of these learned responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Whisker deflection serves as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in trace eyeblink conditioning.
- Learning this association leads to barrel cortex expansion, suggesting memory storage in this region.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the barrel cortex's role in acquiring and retrieving trace eyeblink associations.
- To determine if the barrel cortex is essential for learning and memory consolidation in this paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Lesioning the barrel cortex in rats before (acquisition group) or after (retention group) trace conditioning.
- Assessing the acquisition and expression of the conditioned eyeblink response.
Main Results:
- Rats with lesions before conditioning failed to acquire the trace eyeblink response.
- Rats with lesions after conditioning showed reduced expression of the learned response.
Conclusions:
- The whisker barrel cortex is vital for both the acquisition and retention of whisker-mediated trace eyeblink conditioning.
- These findings indicate the barrel cortex serves as a site for long-term memory storage of these associations.
