Search

• Spatial learning in fish are dependent of telencephalic NO. • NO synthesis has scarcely any effect on retrieval process of information in fish. • Inhibition of NO production produced a selective deficit in place learning. Nitric oxide plays a role in the long term potentiation mechanisms produced in the mammalian hippocampus during spatial learning. A great deal of data has demonstrated that the dorsolateral telencephalon of fish could be homologous to the mammalian hippocampus sharing functional similarities. In the present study, we analyzed the role of nitric oxide in spatial learning in teleost fish. In Experiment 1, we studied the effects of the inhibition of telencephalic nitric oxide in goldfish during the acquisition of a spatial task. The results showed that nitric oxide is involved in the learning of a spatial task. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of the inhibition of telencephalic nitric oxide in goldfish for the retrieval of a learned spatial response. The results indicated that the retrieval of the information previously stored is not dependent of the nitric oxide. The last experiment analyzed the role of the telencephalic nitric oxide in place and cue learning. Results showed a clear impairment in place but not in cue learning. As a whole, these results indicate that fish and mammals, could have a relational memory system mediated by similar biochemical mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyzed the functional activity of granular and agranular insular cortices in contextual specificity of latent inhibition using a conditioned taste aversion paradigm. c-Fos immunolabeling was examined in insular cortex in preexposed and no preexposed groups under similar and different context conditions. Result showed that the exposition to a novel taste increased c-fos activity in insular cortex. However, a context shift caused an increase in immunolabeling in animals preexposed to saccharine. These results suggest insular cortex is part of a complex system to evaluate taste-response, and it may read the meaning of taste stimuli depending on the context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent studies have found that hippocampus of mammals and birds and the lateral pallium of the fish telencephalon are critical for learning the geometric properties of space. Nevertheless, other studies suggest that navigation based on geometric information is primarily supported by proximal cues near the target location. According to this hypothesis, animals could use a taxon strategy to navigate an environment where only geometric cues are available and the results from lesion studies could be masking other effects related to the use of featural information. In the present study, we examined the effects of lesions to the lateral pallium of goldfish in the encoding of geometric spatial information. Goldfish with telencephalic lesions were trained to search for a goal in a rectangular-shaped arena with either one or two possible goals. Lateral pallium lesions do not interfere with goal location when the geometric information defined the goal unambiguously. Present results suggest that the geometric information is sensitive to be encoded in taxon strategies and therefore it could not depend directly on the correct functioning of the hippocampal system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is some experimental evidence that the pallial areas of a fish''s brain are involved in distincted learning functions. Recently published data suggest that the medial pallium is essential for avoidance learning and the lateral pallium is crucial for spatial learning and is also involved in temporal aspects of the learning processes. This data joined to the proposal of homologies between medial and lateral fish pallia and pallial amygdala and hippocampus respectively, suggest that the pallial areas could have preserved their functions throughout vertebrates’ evolution. However, the functional implication of dorsal pallium that has been proposed as homologous to mammalian isocortex and transition cortex is largely unknown. In this study we analyze the role of dorsal pallium in trace and non-trace avoidance learning. Our results show the implication of this area in trace conditioning, but not in non-trace conditioning. This result allows discussion of homology proposals among lateral, dorsal, and medial pallia and hippocampus, isocortex, and pallial amygdala respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The central representation of geomagnetic information in the avian brain continues to challenge researchers. Although the homing pigeon hippocampal formation primarily participates in the map-like representation of landmarks, some suggestive data indicate that it may also participate in spatial behavior guided by geomagnetic information. Forty-four isolated neurons were recorded from the hippocampal formation of homing pigeons trained to shuttle between two goal locations under changing (direction and intensity, and direction only) magnetic field conditions. Of the 37 slow-firing cells sampled (<14spikes/s), none displayed a change in firing rate at the time of magnetic field transitions or during different ambient magnetic field conditions. By contrast, three of seven fast firing cells (>17spikes/s) clearly displayed a phasic increase in firing during at least one of the magnetic field transitions used. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that a subset of hippocampal formation neurons receives information regarding changes in the earth''s magnetic field that may be used to guide behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The subiculum is the main structure linking the hippocampus with several cortical and subcortical areas. In particular, ventral subiculum might act as an interface between the hippocampus, a contextual information processor, and cortical and subcortical processing systems related to motivation, such as the ventral striatum. Electrophysiological studies have shown a relationship between ventral subiculum and ventral striatum, namely a strong influence on mesolimbic system and the activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area. Dopamine activity in this system has received special attention for its role in the latent inhibition phenomenon. However, the functional relationship between mesolimbic system and this behavioral process remains unclear. Two experiments were performed to analyze the role of ventral subiculum on latent inhibition. The results showed that ventral subiculum is involved in contextual processing that modulates the expression of latent inhibition. These findings are consistent with electrophysiological studies revealing the ventral subiculum as a structure modulating the mesolimbic DA system and DA release in the nucleus accumbens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]