Abstract
Cats were trained on a symmetrically reinforced (SR) go-nogo visual discrimination task and sacrificed for biochemical assays on Day 5 of training, after reaching performance criterion or after a 6-day postcriterion period. Serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and noradrenaline (NA) were measured in 13 brain structures. Dopamine (DA) was evaluated in the neostriatum and amygdala while tryptophan hydroxylase activity was measured in the brain stem raphe nuclei. A significant increase in 5-HT, 5-HIAA, and NA were observed in several brain structures on Day 5 and after cats reached performance criterion compared to untrained controls. Tryptophan hydroxylase activity decreased in the raphe nuclei in cats performing at criterion level and DA decreased in the amygdala and neostriatum. Fewer changes were observed on Day 5 than at performance criterion and several changes persisted after a 6-day postcriterion period without training. 5-HT and NA increases are discussed in terms of response suppression and reward behavior, respectively, and DA changes are related to motor organization on nogo trials. It is suggested that the biochemical changes observed are the result of training on the SR go-nogo task.
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