TY - JOUR
T1 - Chronic administration of quinolinic acid in the rat striatum causes spatial learning deficits in a radial arm water maze task
AU - Shear, Deborah A.
AU - Dong, Jie
AU - Haik-Creguer, Kristi L.
AU - Bazzett, Terence J.
AU - Albin, Roger L.
AU - Dunbar, Gary L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This project was funded by NIH-NIA Grant AG08617 (to R.L.A.) and NIH Grant 1-R15-NS30694-01A3 (to G.L.D.). The authors also thank Dr. Robert Beason for the use of his laboratory for histological procedures.
PY - 1998/4
Y1 - 1998/4
N2 - Chronic intrastriatal administration of quinolinic acid (QA) in the rat produces a pattern of neurodegeneration similar to that seen in Huntington's disease (HD). Although these changes have been related to transient motor abnormalities, the effects of chronic QA administration on cognitive abilities have not been assessed. The present study investigated whether the striatal deterioration observed during chronic QA administration produces cognitive impairments in this animal model of HD by testing the effects of chronic administration of QA on spatial learning ability of rats in a radial arm water maze (RAWM) task. Rats were given bilateral implantation of a chronic dialysis probe apparatus which delivered either vehicle or QA (20 mM) into the striatum. Beginning 1 day after implantation, the rats were tested daily for 3 weeks in the RAWM. Nocturnal activity levels were also assessed at 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 14-, and 21-days following probe implantation. Results of behavioral testing indicated that chronic exposure to QA causes spatial learning deficits in the RAWM task with only a transient increase in activity levels. Collectively, these results suggest that chronic striatal exposure to QA mimics some aspects of the cognitive deficits observed in HD.
AB - Chronic intrastriatal administration of quinolinic acid (QA) in the rat produces a pattern of neurodegeneration similar to that seen in Huntington's disease (HD). Although these changes have been related to transient motor abnormalities, the effects of chronic QA administration on cognitive abilities have not been assessed. The present study investigated whether the striatal deterioration observed during chronic QA administration produces cognitive impairments in this animal model of HD by testing the effects of chronic administration of QA on spatial learning ability of rats in a radial arm water maze (RAWM) task. Rats were given bilateral implantation of a chronic dialysis probe apparatus which delivered either vehicle or QA (20 mM) into the striatum. Beginning 1 day after implantation, the rats were tested daily for 3 weeks in the RAWM. Nocturnal activity levels were also assessed at 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, 14-, and 21-days following probe implantation. Results of behavioral testing indicated that chronic exposure to QA causes spatial learning deficits in the RAWM task with only a transient increase in activity levels. Collectively, these results suggest that chronic striatal exposure to QA mimics some aspects of the cognitive deficits observed in HD.
KW - Dialytic apparatus
KW - Huntington's disease
KW - Neostriatum
KW - Quinolinic acid
KW - Reference memory errors
KW - Spatial learning
KW - Working memory errors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032051772&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1006/exnr.1998.6767
DO - 10.1006/exnr.1998.6767
M3 - Article
C2 - 9527900
AN - SCOPUS:0032051772
SN - 0014-4886
VL - 150
SP - 305
EP - 311
JO - Experimental Neurology
JF - Experimental Neurology
IS - 2
ER -