The role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in temporal gating of performance on a reward-based learning and memory task
Year: 2001
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In the present experiment, the role of the biological clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is investigated as a provider of temporal information underlying time dependent changes in cognitive performance. Hamsters were tested on the conditioned place preference task before, and after ablation of the SCN. Animals were conditioned at Zeitgeber time 15 (ZT15), then tested at two different times of day: ZT15 and ZT6. All animals expressed time dependent preference in test phase--they spent significantly greater amount of time in the paired chamber when tested at ZT15 but not when tested at ZT6. This supports the notion that circadian information is an essential component of context representation (Antoniadis et al, 1999). Furthermore, there were no differences in temporal modulation of context preference expression between the experimental and sham groups. An oscillator, outside of the SCN, may be responsible for time discrimination in reward-based learning.
Author: Caroline H. Ko
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2759466865