UNILATERAL INFERIOR OLIVE NMDA LESION LEADS TO UNILATERAL DEFICIT IN ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF EYELID CLASSICAL-CONDITIONING

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.