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Published on: March 4, 2014
Acute administration of interleukin-1beta disrupts motor learning
Susan J Larson1, Kelly D Hartle, Tammy L Ivanco
1Department of Psychology, Concordia College, Moorehead, Minnesota, USA.
Behavioral Neuroscience
|December 19, 2007
Summary
Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), a proinflammatory cytokine, impairs motor learning in rats. This cytokine specifically disrupted performance on a challenging runway task, not simple navigation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Proinflammatory cytokines can interfere with memory consolidation.
- Prior studies primarily examined cytokine effects on hippocampus-dependent spatial learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) on motor learning.
- To determine if IL-1beta affects performance in a non-spatial motor task.
Main Methods:
- Male Long-Evans rats were trained on a runway task (flat or with dowels) for 5 days.
- Rats received injections of either saline or 4 microg/kg IL-1beta after training on the first two days.
- Performance was measured by runway traversal time.
Main Results:
- Rats in the motor learning (dowel) task treated with IL-1beta showed significantly slower traversal times.
- IL-1beta did not affect performance in the control (flat runway) condition.
- These findings indicate a specific impairment of motor learning by IL-1beta.
Conclusions:
- Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) disrupts motor learning performance.
- The effects of IL-1beta appear specific to complex motor tasks, not general locomotion.
- This study provides novel evidence for IL-1beta's role in motor skill acquisition.
