The role of prelimbic cortex in instrumental conditioning.

@article{citeulike:480613, abstract = {Numerous studies have implicated human and primate prefrontal cortex in the ability to hold and manipulate goal or outcome-related information in working memory to guide the performance of forthcoming actions. Here we report that cell-body lesions of prelimbic cortex impair the ability of rats to select an action based on previously encoded action-outcome associations. Rats were food deprived and trained to press two levers, one delivering food pellets and the other a sucrose solution. All rats acquired the lever-press response although the initial acquisition in the prelimbic rats was significantly slower than in sham controls. Furthermore, whereas in sham-lesioned rats, post-training devaluation of one of the two outcomes using a specific satiety procedure produced a selective reduction in performance on the lever that in training delivered the prefed outcome, prelimbic rats failed to show a selective devaluation effect and appeared to reduce performance on both levers non-selectively. Importantly, this impairment only emerged in extinction; in subsequent experiments it was found that, when a specific action-outcome association was cued either by presentation of the outcome itself or by presenting a stimulus previously paired with the outcome, rats demonstrated an ability to select the associated action. These results suggest that action-outcome encoding may be intact in prelimbic rats and that the lesion impaired their ability to retain this learning in working memory in order to establish a course of action. Alternatively, the lesion may have altered the relative contribution of action-outcome and outcome-action associations to instrumental performance. On this account, prelimbic lesions affect action-outcome encoding but leave outcome-action associations intact providing the basis for outcome-mediated initiation of an action sufficient, perhaps, to support acquisition and performance in the lesioned rats.}, address = {Department of Psychology and the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.}, author = {Corbit, L. H. and Balleine, B. W. }, citeulike-article-id = {480613}, issn = {0166-4328}, journal = {Behav Brain Res}, keywords = {nrsa}, month = {November}, number = {1-2}, pages = {145--157}, posted-at = {2006-01-25 17:09:47}, priority = {2}, title = {The role of prelimbic cortex in instrumental conditioning.}, url = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14643467}, volume = {146}, year = {2003} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:480613 L3 - citeulike-article-id:480613 TI - The role of prelimbic cortex in instrumental conditioning. JF - Behav Brain Res VL - 146 IS - 1-2 SP - 145 EP - 157 AD - Department of Psychology and the Brain Research Institute, University of California, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. SN - 0166-4328 N2 - Numerous studies have implicated human and primate prefrontal cortex in the ability to hold and manipulate goal or outcome-related information in working memory to guide the performance of forthcoming actions. Here we report that cell-body lesions of prelimbic cortex impair the ability of rats to select an action based on previously encoded action-outcome associations. Rats were food deprived and trained to press two levers, one delivering food pellets and the other a sucrose solution. All rats acquired the lever-press response although the initial acquisition in the prelimbic rats was significantly slower than in sham controls. Furthermore, whereas in sham-lesioned rats, post-training devaluation of one of the two outcomes using a specific satiety procedure produced a selective reduction in performance on the lever that in training delivered the prefed outcome, prelimbic rats failed to show a selective devaluation effect and appeared to reduce performance on both levers non-selectively. Importantly, this impairment only emerged in extinction; in subsequent experiments it was found that, when a specific action-outcome association was cued either by presentation of the outcome itself or by presenting a stimulus previously paired with the outcome, rats demonstrated an ability to select the associated action. These results suggest that action-outcome encoding may be intact in prelimbic rats and that the lesion impaired their ability to retain this learning in working memory in order to establish a course of action. Alternatively, the lesion may have altered the relative contribution of action-outcome and outcome-action associations to instrumental performance. On this account, prelimbic lesions affect action-outcome encoding but leave outcome-action associations intact providing the basis for outcome-mediated initiation of an action sufficient, perhaps, to support acquisition and performance in the lesioned rats. KW - nrsa AU - Corbit, LH AU - Balleine, BW PY - 2003/11/30/ UR - http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14643467 ER -