Motion aftereffect magnitude as a measure of the spatio-temporal response properties of direction-sensitive analyzers.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adaptation, Ocular↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “Spatial Behavior”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Spatial aversion conditioning with ethanol.
To determine whether dose level affected ethanol's ability to establish a preference or aversion for an associated spatial location, two groups of male albino rats each received five pairings of an IP injection of ethanol (1 or 2 g/kg) with exposure to a distinctive compartment for 15 min. On alternate days, each rat was exposed to a different compartment after a saline injection. A choice test indicated that aversions were established at both dose levels, and thus failed to confirm a previous report of conditioned location preference at the lower dose level.
Animals↗
Effects of chlordiazepoxide and sodium valproate in two tests of spatial behaviour.
The effects of chlordiazepoxide (CDP) and sodium valproate (VPA) were studied in rats trained to asymptotic performance on two tests of spatial behaviour, the 8-arm radial maze and the 8-choice arena. The task in the 8-arm maze was to locate a single food pellet at the end of each arm. Both CDP and VPA caused an increase in errors, an increase in performance time, and the utilization of a non-spatial response strategy. The task in the 8-choice arena was to locate a single water bottle from an octagonal array of eight otherwise empty bottles. For one group the goal bottle remained in the same place from trial to trial; for a second group the position of the goal bottle was cued by a black card over the nozzle; for the third group the goal bottle was uncued and moved randomly from trial to trial. VPA had no effect on performance, but CDP impaired performance in all three groups. These patterns of effects suggest that VPA may specifically disrupt working memory, but that the impairment of spatial performance by CDP probably results from a non-specific perceptual or attentional deficit.
Animals↗
Nicotine impairs acquisition of radial maze performance in rats.
The effects of nicotine (NIC) and scopolamine (SCOP) on radial maze acquisition were examined using an 8-arm radial maze. In Experiment 1, food-deprived Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to eat food pellets located at the ends of each arm of the radial maze without repeating arm choices. Both NIC (0.45 mg/kg, SC) and SCOP (0.25 mg/kg, IP) impaired acquisition when they were administered before, but not after the daily training sessions. Experiment 2 examined the effect of nicotine on working and reference memory in rats trained to a criterion of 3 correct choices out of the first 4 choices with only 4 of the 8 arms baited. NIC (0.1-0.45 mg/kg) had no effect on working memory (reentry into baited arms) or reference memory (entry into unbaited arms) errors. It is concluded that NIC impairs processes involved in the acquisition but not maintenance of radial maze performance. Neither NIC nor SCOP affects post-training consolidation processes.
Animals↗
The effect of pirenzepine on spatial learning in the Morris Water Maze.
The effects of the selective M1-muscarinic antagonist, pirenzepine, were studied on the Morris Water Maze, a test of spatial learning in the rat. Pirenzepine (0, 10 or 30 micrograms) was administered into lateral ventricle during acquisition of this task. Although 30 micrograms of pirenzepine impaired acquisition of the spatial aspects of the task, treated animals still appeared to be able to acquire a taxon strategy. A low dose of pirenzepine (10 micrograms) produced a slight deficit but this was only visible in a "spatial probe" trial. Although these results are consistent with the belief that muscarinic M1-receptors are involved in spatial learning, it cannot be excluded that the effects recorded were mediated by muscarinic M2-receptors, due to the low selectivity of pirenzepine.
Animals↗
MK-801 impedes the acquisition of a spatial memory task in rats.
Several studies have reported that MK-801 impairs the acquisition of various learning and memory tasks, while others suggest that MK-801 may interfere with performance rather than having a specific effect on memory. To characterize further the effects of MK-801 on learning and memory, MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg, SC) was administered prior to or immediately after learning trials in a trial-independent water maze task. Since MK-801 may affect nonassociative variables that may influence learning and memory, motor activity and general reactivity measures were also determined for 0.0125, 0.025, or 0.05 mg/kg of MK-801 administered SC. Since MK-801 may also be used to treat children with epilepsy, we investigated the possible persistent cognitive effects on neonates. MK-801 (0.02 mg/kg, SC) was administered at postnatal days 9-15 and tested in the same task as above starting at day 36 of age. There were no persistent effects of neonatal treatment. However, in adult rats, MK-801 impaired the acquisition of the water maze task but did not affect performance during a recall task in the same apparatus. At doses affecting learning, there were no effects on motor activity or general reactivity in adult rats. These results are consistent with the conclusion that MK-801 interferes with acquisition of spatial learning in the rat.
Aging↗
Effects of tetrahydroaminoacridine on spatial navigation of nucleus-basalis- and frontal-cortex-lesioned rats.
The present study investigates the effects of tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA: 1 and 3 mg/kg) on water maze (WM) spatial learning performance of intact, nucleus-basalis- (NB) lesioned, frontal-cortex- (FR) lesioned, or NB + FR-lesioned rats. NB lesions did not impair WM learning and had no effect on the WM performance deficit in FR-lesioned rats. THA at 1 or 3 mg/kg did not improve WM spatial memory of intact, NB-, FR-, or NB + FR-lesioned rats. These results suggest that 1) the cholinergic NB system is not a prerequisite for frontally mediated acquisition of WM performance, 2) THA treatment does not enhance spatial memory, and 3) THA is not effective in alleviating cognitive deficits induced by degeneration of the frontal cortex.
Animals↗
Phencyclidine disrupts acquisition and retention performance within a spatial continuous recognition memory task.
Rats with 1 or 2 mg/kg phencyclidine (PCP), 4 mg/kg PCP, or saline injections were tested for acquisition or retention performance of a spatial continuous recognition memory task. Results indicate that relative to controls and rats with injections of 1 and 2 mg/kg PCP rats with 4-mg/kg PCP injections were profoundly impaired in acquisition and somewhat impaired in retention of the task across all lags as measured by increases in latency for repeated items. Phencyclidine, through it presumed blocking action of the NMDA receptor, alters the consolidation of new spatial location information but does not have a major affect on short-term maintenance of previously learned information.
Analysis of Variance↗
Spatial learning deficit and reduced hippocampal ChAT activity in rats after an ICV injection of streptozotocin.
ICV injections of streptozotocin (STREP) lower the glucose utilization of the brain and affect the cholinergic system. The present study was designed to evaluate whether STREP-treated rats have an impaired spatial discrimination performance in the Morris spatial navigation task. Performance in this task is sensitive to treatment with cholinergic antagonists. In contrast to young rats, middle-aged STREP-treated rats tended to have an impaired spatial discrimination performance in the Morris task at the end of training. In middle-aged STREP-treated rats, but not in control rats, spatial discrimination performance was associated with hippocampal choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity. The correlation between spatial discrimination performance in the Morris task and the decrease in hippocampal ChAT activity resembles the relation between cognitive and biochemical changes observed in Alzheimer's disease. Our findings suggest that STREP treatment of middle-aged rats may provide a relevant model for dementia.
Animals↗
Effects of St-587 and prazosin on water maze and passive avoidance performance of scopolamine-treated rats.
The present experiments were designed to investigate whether the alpha-1 adrenergic and muscarinic cholinergic systems interact in the regulation of spatial navigation behavior in the Morris water maze test and passive avoidance performance. Pretraining administration of scopolamine, a muscarinic antagonist, markedly impaired the acquisition of water maze task (a hidden platform version) as well as retention of this task. The drug also impaired slightly navigation to a visible platform. Pretraining subcutaneous administration of St-587 (alpha-1 agonist) at 2000 micrograms/kg slightly improved the water maze navigation to a hidden platform in control rats, but its effect was not augmented in scopolamine-treated rats. Pretraining administration of prazosin (alpha-1 antagonist) 1000 micrograms/kg or 2000 micrograms/kg did not significantly potentiate the scopolamine (muscarinic cholinergic antagonist)-induced (doses 200 micrograms/kg and 100 micrograms/kg, pretraining intraperitoneal injection) deficit in water maze navigation. Pretraining administration of prazosin at doses 1000 micrograms/kg and 2000 micrograms/kg or St-587 at doses 1000 micrograms/kg and 2000 micrograms/kg did not have any significant influence on scopolamine-induced (200 micrograms/kg or 400 micrograms/kg) disruption in passive avoidance performance. These findings suggest that alpha-1 adrenergic mechanisms do not participate or are not the most important component of the noradrenergic system in the interaction between noradrenaline and muscarinic receptors in the modulation of learning and memory. The analysis of results indicates that activation of alpha-1 adrenoceptors might facilitate the acquisition of water maze task in its initial phase, for instance, switching from wall hugging strategy to an active exploration strategy. Furthermore, the present data suggest that muscarinic cholinergic blockade may affect both mnemonic and nonmnemonic processes in rats.
Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
A right hemispatial field advantage on a verbal free-vision task.
Within a fixed time limit for each stimulus item, right handers searched, in a top-to-bottom scan and from right to left for half the subjects and from left to right for the other half, among randomly placed and oriented words for target words that rhymed with a designated sound. A right hemispatial field advantage emerged, as well as an advantage for targets above as compared to below the horizontal meridian. A lateral X vertical location interaction showed a right-side advantage only for targets below the horizontal meridian and an upper target advantage only for targets on the left. Even though the task was presented in free vision, results were highly similar to prior findings with lateralized tachistoscopic presentation of verbal stimuli.
Adolescent↗
Spatial orientation during locomotion [correction of locomation] following space flight.
To investigate changes in spatial orientation ability and walking performance following space flight, 7 astronaut subjects were asked pre- and post-flight to perform a goal directed locomotion paradigm which consisted of walking a triangular path with and without vision. This new paradigm, involving inputs from different sensory systems, allows quantification of several critical parameters, like orientation performance, walking velocities and postural stability, in a natural walking task. The paper presented here mainly focuses on spatial orientation performance quantified by the errors in walking the previously seen path without vision. Errors in length and reaching the corners did not change significantly from pre- to post-flight, while absolute angular errors slightly increased post-flight. The significant decrease in walking velocity and a change in head-trunk coordination while walking around the corners of the path observed post-flight may suggest that during re-adaptation to gravity the mechanisms which are necessary to perform the task have to be re-accomplished.
Electronic Data Processing↗
Effect of weightlessness on posture and movement control during a whole body reaching task.
Here are reported preliminary results of the "Synergy" experiment performed aboard the Russian orbital station "MIR" in July 1993 (Altair Mission). The experiment was carried out before, during, and after the space flight of two astronauts (S1 and S2). The duration of the flight was 21 days for S1 and 6 month for S2. The subjects were tested during preflight, inflight and postflight. The astronaut subjects were fixed on the ground by the feet. They were asked to pick up a box in front of them on the ground. Two velocities of movement and two distances of the target to be reached were tested. The movement of several small markers placed on the body was recorded on video tape. Results show that the shape of head and hand trajectories in the sagittal plane remains roughly the same during the flight in spite of the modification of mechanical constraints. Trajectory invariance does not result in joint angular displacement invariance. These data indicate that the planning of the movement takes place in terms of head and hand trajectories rather than joint rotations as it was previously suggested for simple arm reaching movement.
Adaptation, Physiological↗
Impact of ageing on residential changes: a case study from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Aged↗
On-demand platform improves accuracy of the Morris water maze procedure.
In order to prevent chance finding of the hidden target in the Morris water tank task, the rigid underwater platform is replaced with a collapsible platform, resting at the bottom of the pool. A computerized videosystem tracks the rat's movement across the pool and raises the platform when the animal has stayed in the target area for a predetermined time. Acquisition of the task with the collapsible platform proceeds at a similar rate as with the rigid platform when the criterion conditions are easy (target distance 15 cm, target time 2.5 s), but gradually deteriorates when the target time increases to 10.0 s. Successful solution of the modified task requires accurate localization of the target under open loop conditions and is thus well suited for investigation of the fine structure of the cognitive maps and of their changes induced by lesions or drugs.
Animals↗
The cone field: a spatial discrimination task for the automatic and simultaneous assessment of working and reference memory in rats.
A cone field apparatus was developed in which spatial working memory (WM) and reference memory (RM) can be assessed automatically and simultaneously. The cone field is a large open field with 16 cones in it. A configuration of four cones was baited with a food pellet. In the holeboard, the predecessor of the cone field, no clear criteria exist to distinguish between accidental and directed orientations toward the target (hole). In the cone field the visit to the target (cone) is unambiguously defined. We found that senescent rats were impaired on both the WM and the RM. The development of a fixed pattern of visiting the baited cones was effectively prevented by starting the rats randomly from four different positions. When only one start position was used, rats developed a fixed pattern of visiting the baited cones. This pattern was more pronounced in the young than in the senescent animals. In the last experiment we explored whether the task might be suited for the assessment of WM and RM performance in longitudinal studies. Rats performed like naive animals on both memory components when re-acquisitions were separated by 4-month intervals without training.
Aging↗
Representation in the hippocampus: what do hippocampal neurons code?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Action Potentials↗
Spatial learning and memory processes: the search for their neurobiological mechanisms in the rat.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Animals↗