Dissociable contributions of mediodorsal and anterior thalamic nuclei in visual attentional performance: A comparison using nicotinic and muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonists.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Thalamic subregions mediate various cognitive functions, including attention, inhibitory response control and decision making. Such neuronal activity is modulated by cholinergic thalamic afferents and deterioration of such modulatory signaling has been theorised to contribute to cognitive decline in neurodegenerative disorders. However, the thalamic subnuclei and cholinergic receptors involved in cognitive functioning remain largely unknown.

Aims

We investigated whether muscarinic or nicotinic receptors in the mediodorsal thalamus and anterior thalamus contribute to rats' performance in the five-choice serial reaction time task, which measures sustained visual attention and impulsive action.

Methods

Male Long-Evans rats were trained in the five-choice seria

SUBMITTER: Mantanona CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7708668 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature