4.6 Article

Neuroplastic Changes in the Superior Colliculus and Hippocampus in Self-rewarding Paradigm: Importance of Visual Cues

Journal

MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
Volume 59, Issue 2, Pages 890-915

Publisher

SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02597-2

Keywords

Light cue; Superior colliculus; Hippocampus; Synaptic plasticity; Dopamine; Reward memory

Categories

Funding

  1. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) [45/06/2020/PHA/BMS]
  2. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) [CRG/2020/004971]
  3. SERB (GOI) [EMR/2017/000621]
  4. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research [GOI (37[1718]/18/EMR-II)]

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The experiment in rats showed that training with light cues can enhance learning and memory formation, possibly related to increased neuronal activity and BDNF expression. Additionally, glutamatergic signaling and dopamine secretion may play a role in memory formation and behavioral changes.
Coincident excitation via different sensory modalities encoding objects of positive salience is known to facilitate learning and memory. With a view to dissect the contribution of visual cues in inducing adaptive neural changes, we monitored the lever press activity of a rat conditioned to self-administer sweet food pellets in the presence/absence of light cues. Application of light cues facilitated learning and consolidation of long-term memory. The superior colliculus (SC) of rats trained on light cue showed increased neuronal activity, dendritic branching, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein and mRNA expression. Concomitantly, the hippocampus showed augmented neurogenesis as well as BDNF protein and mRNA expression. While intra-SC administration of U0126 (inhibitor of ERK 1/2 and long-term memory) impaired memory formation, lidocaine (local anaesthetic) hindered memory recall. The light cue-dependent sweet food pellet self-administration was coupled with increased efflux of dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh). In conditioned rats, pharmacological inhibition of glutamatergic signalling in dentate gyrus (DG) reduced lever press activity, as well as DA and DOPAC secretion in the AcbSh. We suggest that the neuroplastic changes in the SC and hippocampus might represent memory engrams sculpted by visual cues encoding reward information.

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