Dopamine depletion in either the dorsomedial or dorsolateral striatum impairs egocentric Cincinnati water maze performance while sparing allocentric Morris water maze learning

• Published in: Neurobiology of learning and memory 2015-02, Vol.118, p.55-63
• Main Authors: Braun, Amanda A., Amos-Kroohs, Robyn M., Gutierrez, Arnold, Lundgren, Kerstin H., Seroogy, Kim B., Skelton, Matthew R., Vorhees, Charles V., Williams, Michael T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allocentric; Animals; Biogenic Monoamines - analysis; Biogenic Monoamines - chemical synthesis; Dopamine; Dopamine - chemical synthesis; Dopamine - physiology; Dorsolateral striatum; Dorsomedial striatum; Egocentric; Learning; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Maze Learning - physiology; Memory; Neostriatum - chemistry; Neostriatum - physiology; Neurobiology; Oxidopamine - administration & dosage; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Spatial Navigation - drug effects; Spatial Navigation - physiology; Studies
• ISSN: 1074-7427; 1095-9564
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.10.009

•Egocentric and allocentic learning investigated after dorsolateral or dorsomedial striatal 6-OHDA lesions.•Egocentric learning in the Cincinnati water maze was compromised regardless of region lesioned.•Spatial learning in the Morris water maze was unaffected.•The results suggest that dopamine modulates egocentric learning in discrete regions of the striatum. Both egocentric route-based learning and spatial learning, as assessed by the Cincinnati water maze (CWM) and Morris water maze (MWM), respectively, are impaired following an 80% dopamine (DA) loss in the neostriatum after 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) administration in rats. The dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) are implicated in different navigational learning types, namely the DLS is implicated in egocentric learning while the DMS is implicated in spatial learning. This experiment tested whether selective DA loss through 6-OHDA lesions in the DMS or DLS would impair one or both types of navigation. Both DLS and DMS DA loss significantly impaired route-based CWM learning, without affecting spatial or cued MWM performance. DLS 6-OHDA lesions produced a 75% DA loss in this region, with no changes in other monoamine levels in the DLS or DMS. DMS 6-OHDA lesions produced a 62% DA loss in this region, without affecting other monoamine levels in the DMS or DLS. The results indicate a role for DA in DLS and DMS regions in route-based egocentric but not spatial learning and memory. Spatial learning deficits may require more pervasive monoamine reductions within each region before deficits are exhibited. This is the first study to implicate DLS and DMS DA in route-based egocentric navigation.