Serial reversal learning of position discrimination in developing rats

To evaluate the effects of styrene exposure on learning, adult male Long-Evans rats learned repeated reversals of a spatial discrimination task. Styrene monomer (50% vol/vol in corn oil) was administered by gavage to groups of eight rats at 500 mg/kg/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks in Experiments (Exps) I and II (total dose = 20.0 g/kg) or for 1,3,5, or 8 weeks in Exp III (total dose = 2.5, 7.5, 12.5, or 20.0 g/kg). Control rats received corn oil vehicle for 8 weeks. Reversal training began 8 (Exp I), 10 (Exp II), or 32 (Exp III) weeks after termination of dosing. In Exp I, an instrumental (IN) schedule was used, under which rats received food after each presentation of a “positive” response lever (S+ ) only if they had made at least one response during that presentation of S+. In Exps II and III, an automaintenance (AU) schedule was used, under which rats received food after every presentation of S+, regardless of responding. In all experiments, a second manipulandum (S°) was presented randomly in time with respect to S + and food delivery. A discrimination ratio (DR) was calculated as the proportion of total responses on S+ in each block of 10 trials. A reversal involved switching the reward values of S+ and S°. Serial reversal learning was quantified in terms of trials to criterion. Reversal learning improved similarly in control and treated rats trained under the IN schedule, whereas treated rats trained under the AU schedule failed to improve as much as controls. Reversal learning of some styrene-treated AU rats in Exp III continued to be impaired for > 1 year after treatment. Increased responding on S° featured prominently in the behavioral effect of styrene. An IN schedule requiring suppression of S° responses for food in Exp III revealed a clear deficit in rats exposed to styrene. Not all treated rats were affected by styrene; nevertheless, changes in the affected individuals were as large as those previously observed after trimethyltin-induced lesions of the CNS. The incidence of impairment was not related to the total dose of styrene given, suggesting the action of other, undetermined factors affecting individual sensitivity to styrene.

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Selective Role of the Putamen in Serial Reversal Learning in the Marmoset

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhy276 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 447-460 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Stacey A W Jackson ◽

Nicole K Horst ◽

Sebastian F A Axelsson ◽

Naotaka Horiguchi ◽

Gemma J Cockcroft ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reversal Learning ◽

Serial Reversal

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Serial reversal learning and cognitive flexibility in two species of Neotropical parrots (Diopsittaca nobilis and Pionites melanocephala)

Behavioural Processes ◽

10.1016/j.beproc.2018.04.002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 157 ◽

pp. 664-672 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jayden O. van Horik ◽

Nathan J. Emery

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Reversal Learning ◽

Serial Reversal

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Impairment of olfactory, auditory, and spatial serial reversal learning in rats recovered from pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency.

Behavioral Neuroscience ◽

10.1037/0735-7044.105.3.360 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 105 (3) ◽

pp. 360-374 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Robert G. Mair ◽

Russell L. Knoth ◽

Sharon A. Rabchenuk ◽

Philip J. Langlais

Keyword(s):

Reversal Learning ◽

Thiamine Deficiency ◽

Serial Reversal

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Hemispheric differences in serial reversal learning: a study with commissurotomy patients

Neuropsychologia ◽

10.1016/s0028-3932(98)00056-6 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 36 (10) ◽

pp. 1025-1032 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Evelyn Lee Teng

Keyword(s):

Reversal Learning ◽

Hemispheric Differences ◽

Serial Reversal

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Cortical and thalamic influences on striatal involvement in instructed, serial reversal learning; implications for the organisation of flexible behaviour.

10.1101/2021.12.20.472804 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Brendan Williams ◽

Anastasia Christakou

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Reversal Learning ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Dorsal Striatum ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Flexible Control ◽

The Right ◽

Serial Reversal

Cognitive flexibility is essential for enabling an individual to respond adaptively to changes in their environment. Evidence from human and animal research suggests that the control of cognitive flexibility is dependent on an array of neural architecture. Cortico-basal ganglia circuits have long been implicated in cognitive flexibility. In particular, the role of the striatum is pivotal, acting as an integrative hub for inputs from the prefrontal cortex and thalamus, and modulation by dopamine and acetylcholine. Striatal cholinergic modulation has been implicated in the flexible control of behaviour, driven by input from the centromedian-parafascicular nuclei of the thalamus. However, the role of this system in humans is not clearly defined as much of the current literature is based on animal work. Here, we aim to investigate the roles corticostriatal and thalamostriatal connectivity in serial reversal learning. Functional connectivity between the left centromedian-parafascicular nuclei and the associative dorsal striatum was significantly increased for negative feedback compared to positive feedback. Similar differences in functional connectivity were observed for the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, but these were localised to when participants switched to using an alternate response strategy following reversal. These findings suggest that connectivity between the centromedian-parafascicular nuclei and the striatum may be used to generally identify potential changes in context based on negative outcomes, and the effect of this signal on striatal output may be influenced by connectivity between the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the striatum.

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