Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Oviedo, Plaza Feijoo s/n, 33003 Oviedo, Spain.
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2012 Mar;97(3):346-53. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2012.02.007. Epub 2012 Mar 3.
Our aim was to assess the way that middle-aged rats solve spatial learning tasks that can be performed using different strategies. We assessed the brain networks involved in these spatial learning processes using Principal Component Analysis. Two tasks were performed in a complex context, a four-arm radial maze, in which each group must use either an allocentric or an egocentric strategy. Another task was performed in a simple T-maze in which rats must use an egocentric strategy. Brain metabolic activity was quantified to evaluate neural changes related to spatial learning in the described tasks. Our findings revealed that two functional networks are involved in spatial learning in aged rats. One of the networks, spatial processing, is composed of brain regions involved in the integration of sensory and motivational information. The other network, context-dependent processing, mainly involves the dorsal hippocampus and is related to the processing of contextual information from the environment. Both networks work together to solve spatial tasks in a complex spatial environment.
我们的目的是评估中年大鼠解决空间学习任务的方式，这些任务可以使用不同的策略来完成。我们使用主成分分析来评估这些空间学习过程中涉及的大脑网络。在一个复杂的环境中进行了两项任务，一个是四臂放射状迷宫，每个组必须使用一种基于位置或自我中心的策略。另一项任务是在一个简单的 T 迷宫中进行的，老鼠必须使用自我中心的策略。量化了大脑代谢活性，以评估与描述任务中的空间学习相关的神经变化。我们的发现表明，两个功能网络参与了老年大鼠的空间学习。其中一个网络，空间处理，由涉及感觉和动机信息整合的大脑区域组成。另一个网络，情境相关处理，主要涉及背侧海马体，与处理环境中的情境信息有关。这两个网络共同合作，在复杂的空间环境中解决空间任务。
