Journal
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
Volume 225, Issue 2, Pages 515-521Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.08.014
Keywords
Intracranial self-stimulation; Brain stimulation reward; Dopaminergic treatment; Avoidance learning; Acquisition; Long term retention; Shuttle-box
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Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG [SFB 779, SFB-TRR-62]
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The development of avoidance learning depends on dopamine release in forebrain regions. Previous studies indicated that rewarding brain stimulation facilitated two-way active avoidance learning. However, it is not clear whether the temporal relationship of brain stimulation to the training session (before, during or after) is important. To investigate the role of stimulation condition (no stimulation, self-stimulation only, or self-stimulation plus avoidance stimulation) and sequence of self-stimulation training (before or after avoidance training), we used a 3 x 2 factorial design, in which every level of stimulation was paired with every level of sequence for a total of 6 different groups. The results suggest that self-stimulation either before or after avoidance learning improved acquisition performance, but acquisition was maximal when stimulation was also given during acquisition trials. Importantly, the sequence of self-stimulation (before or after each acquisition session) was irrelevant to this beneficial effect. However, stimulation had no apparent effect on long-term retention when tested 10 days later under conditions of no stimulation, except that the performance of the group that had previously received avoidance-contingent stimulation deteriorated over the course of 60 trials. This may reflect frustration from the omission of expected reward. These results are relevant for optimizing brain stimulation to improve learning. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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