Lesion of the cerebellar interpositus nucleus or the red nucleus affects classically conditioned neuronal activity in the hippocampus

Abstract

1. 1. The cerebellum and the hippocampus have been known to be neural structures involved in classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response in rabbits. The neuronal activities related to conditioning are observed in both structures. It is uncertain, however, whether these conditioning-related neuronal activities are established in parallel or hierarchically. 2. 2. The present study was conducted to observe the effects of lesions of the cerebellar interpositus nucleus(INT) or the red nudeus(RN) on conditioned hippocampal neuronal activity. 3. 3. Rabbits in the first experiment were trained by standard delay conditioning and then given INT lesion by injecting the kainic acid through a cannula previously implanted. Lesions of INT abolished conditioned neuronal responses in the hippocampal CA1 area, which had been established before lesioning, as well as behavioral conditioned responses(CRs). 4. 4. The second experiment was to examine if conditioning-related activities in the hippocampus would develope after RN was lesioned with INT intact. Rabbits were first given unilateral electrolytic lesions of RN followed by conditioning sessions. Besides a few CRs, they failed to show an increase in hippocampal CA1 activity. When training was switched to the contralateral eye, animals showed robust CRs and hippocampal responses immediately. However, training reswitched to the original eye, behavioral and neuronal responses disappeared again. 5. 5. These results suggest that conditioned neuronal activities in the hippocampus depends on the cerebellum and that conditioning-related inputs from INT via RN may be critical for these conditioned neuronal response in the hippocampus.