M. Mintz et al., UNILATERAL INFERIOR OLIVE NMDA LESION LEADS TO UNILATERAL DEFICIT IN ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF EYELID CLASSICAL-CONDITIONING, Behavioral and neural biology, 61(3), 1994, pp. 218-224
New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were trained for acq
uisition (N = 21) or retention (N = 10) of classical eyelid conditioni
ng with unilateral or bilateral N-methyl-DL-aspartate chemical lesions
of the rostromedial dorsal accessory inferior olive (rmDAO; multiple
injections totaling 76 to 342 nmol). In all instances, subjects were u
nable to learn or retain conditioning on the side contralateral to the
lesion. Learning rates were comparable for lesions outside of the rmD
AO and sham operates. These findings demonstrate a specific unilateral
deficit whereas in previous research the answer to this question was
ambiguous since electrolytic lesions effectively cause bilateral oliva
ry lesions. This research agrees with the concept that the inferior ol
ive projects essential information about the unconditioned stimulus to
a cerebellar locus of learning and memory for classical conditioning.
(C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.