1. Spatial learning in an enclosed eight-arm radial maze in rats with sodium arsanilate-induced labyrinthectomies.
- Author
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Ossenkopp KP and Hargreaves EL
- Subjects
- Animals, Behavior, Animal drug effects, Ear, Inner drug effects, Male, Memory drug effects, Rats, Vestibule, Labyrinth drug effects, Arsanilic Acid adverse effects, Learning drug effects, Sodium adverse effects, Spatial Behavior, Tympanic Membrane drug effects
- Abstract
Bilateral vestibular dysfunction was induced in Long-Evans male rats (n = 7) by intratympanic injections of sodium arsanilate (30 mg/side). Control rats (n = 6) received isotonic saline. Animals were tested for labyrinthine integrity by measuring air-righting and contact-righting reflexes. Rats were reduced to 85% of free-feeding body weight and tested in an enclosed 8-arm radial maze (1 trial/day over 10 days). Labyrinthectomized animals made significantly more errors (p < .001) and, unlike the controls, showed no significant improvement on this measure over acquisition training. These rats also made significantly more (p = 0.018) sequential same arm reentries and fewer sequential adjacent arm entries (p < .01). These findings demonstrate that information obtained from the vestibular system is very important in spatial learning in the rat.
- Published
- 1993
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