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Related Experiment Videos

Huntington's disease and eyeblink classical conditioning: normal learning but abnormal timing

D S Woodruff-Pak1, M Papka

  • 1Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA.

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS
|July 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Huntington's disease (HD) patients can learn classical conditioning normally, but the timing of their responses is impaired. This suggests the striatum plays a role in refining conditioned responses.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Learning and Memory

Background:

  • Huntington's disease (HD) involves basal ganglia and cerebral cortex degeneration.
  • The hippocampus, cholinergic system, and cerebellum are relatively spared in HD.
  • Eyeblink classical conditioning (EBCC) relies on specific neural circuitry.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate eyeblink classical conditioning (EBCC) performance in Huntington's disease (HD) patients.
  • To determine if the neurodegenerative pattern in HD affects classical conditioning acquisition.
  • To explore the role of the striatum in the timing of conditioned responses.

Main Methods:

  • Compared EBCC performance in seven HD patients to age-matched normal controls.
  • Assessed conditioned response (CR) production and timing.

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  • Compared HD patients to individuals with probable Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, and cerebellar lesions.

    • Main Results:

    • HD patients showed normal acquisition of conditioned responses (CRs) in the EBCC paradigm.
    • The timing of CRs was significantly abnormal in HD patients compared to controls.
    • HD patients performed significantly better on EBCC than patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, or cerebellar lesions.

    Conclusions:

    • The ability to acquire conditioned responses is preserved in Huntington's disease.
    • The striatum may be involved in optimizing the temporal aspects of conditioned responses.
    • EBCC can be a useful paradigm for understanding cognitive function in neurodegenerative diseases.