The Effect of the NMDA Antagonist APV on a Spinal Operant Avoidance Task
Abstract
Previous research has shown that spinal rats can learn a flexion response to avoid shock. Instituting a response-shock contingency could alter behavior by inducing long-term potentiation (LTP), an NMDA-mediated phenomenon. I tested this hypothesis by assessing whether the administration of the NMDA antagonist APV disrupts learning. Subjects were spinally transected at T2 and had catheters inserted to the lumbosacral enlargement. Twenty four hours later, APV (0, 10, 20, or 40 mM) was microinjected, after which subjects received 30 minutes of training. We found that APV disrupted learning of the avoidance response in a dose-dependent fashion.
Description
Program year: 1994/1995Digitized from print original stored in HDR
Citation
Janjua, Kamran (1995). The Effect of the NMDA Antagonist APV on a Spinal Operant Avoidance Task. University Undergraduate Research Fellow. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /CAPSTONE -EdwardsA _1991.