尽管许多研究表明眶额皮质在记忆的学习和检索以及随后的决策中起着重要作用,眶腹外侧皮质(VLO)的作用仍不清楚,尤其是与恐惧和空间有关。
本研究中使用了4个单独的大鼠组。假手术和双侧VLO电损伤后,四个队列接受了主动回避测试,被动回避测试,Morris水迷宫和T迷宫分开。
首先,数据显示,在被动回避试验中,Sprague-Dawley大鼠双侧VLO的电解损伤缩短了大鼠逃入暗室的潜伏期。此外,在主动回避测试中,VLO的损伤还导致大鼠在连续5天的训练中从第三天开始主动回避的数量减少。更重要的是,VLO损伤显著缩短了Morris水迷宫大鼠靶象限的探索时间。此外,在T迷宫中,VLO病变组显示的正确交替百分比低于假手术组。
这些结果表明,不仅在学习和检索与恐惧有关的记忆中,VLO在视觉线索引导的空间相关记忆的学习和检索中也起着重要作用。
Although many studies have indicated that orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in the learning and retrieval of memory and subsequent decision-making, the role of ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) still remains unclear, especially related to fear and space.
Four separate cohorts of rats were used in this study. After sham surgery and electrical lesion of bilateral VLO, four cohorts received active avoidance test, passive avoidance test, Morris water maze and T maze separately.
Firstly, data shown that electrolytic lesions of bilateral VLO of Sprague-Dawley rats shortened the latency of rats to escape to darkroom in passive avoidance test. Besides, the damage of VLO also resulted in decrease of the number of active avoidance of rats from the third day during 5 consecutive days\' training in active avoidance test. What\'s more, the impairment of VLO significantly shortened the exploring time in the target quadrant of rats in Morris water maze. Furthermore, VLO-lesions group shown lower correct alternation percentage than sham group in T maze.
These results indicated that not only in the learning and retrieval of fear-related memory, VLO also plays an important role in the learning and retrieval of spatial-related memory guided by visual cues.