Neural circuits mediating latent learning and conditioning for salt in the rat

Higher-order conditioning is impaired by hippocampal lesions

Behavior in the real world is rarely motivated by primary conditioned stimuli that have been directly associated with potent unconditioned reinforcers. Instead, motivation and choice behavior are driven by complex chains of higher-order associations that are only indirectly linked to intrinsic reward and often exert their influence outside awareness. Second-order conditioning (SOC) [1] is a basic associative-learning mechanism whereby stimuli acquire motivational salience by proxy, in the absence of primary incentives [2, 3]. Memory-systems theories consider first-order conditioning (FOC) and SOC to be prime examples of hippocampal-independent nondeclarative memory [4, 5]. Accordingly, neurobiological models of SOC focus almost exclusively on nondeclarative neural systems that support motivational salience and reward value. Transfer of value from a conditioned stimulus to a neutral stimulus is thought to require the basolateral amygdala [6, 7] and the ventral striatum [2, 3], but not the hippocampus. We developed a new paradigm to measure appetitive SOC of tones in rats. Hippocampal lesions severely impaired both acquisition and expression of SOC despite normal FOC. Unlike controls, rats with hippocampal lesions could not discriminate between positive and negative secondary conditioned tones, although they exhibited general familiarity with previously presented tones compared with new tones. Importantly, normal rats' behavior, in contrast to that of hippocampal groups, also revealed different confidence levels as indexed by effort, a central characteristic of hippocampal relational memory. The results indicate, contrary to current systems models, that representations of intrinsic relationships between reward value, stimulus identity, and motivation require hippocampal mediation when these relationships are of a higher order.

The entorhinal cortex, but not the dorsal hippocampus, is necessary for single-cue latent learning

Two experiments were conducted to examine the roles of the entorhinal cortex (EC), dorsal hippocampus (DH), and ventral hippocampus (VH) in a modified Latent Cue Preference (LCP) task. The modified LCP task utilized one visual cue in each compartment, compared to several multimodal cues used in a previous version. In the single-cue LCP task, water-replete rats drink water in one compartment of the LCP box on 1 day, and then have no water in a second compartment of the LCP box the following day (one training trial), for a total of three training trials. Rats are then water-deprived prior to a preference test, in which they are allowed to move freely between the two compartments with the water removed. Latent learning is demonstrated when water-deprived rats spend more time in the compartment that previously contained the water. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the single-cue LCP task results in the same irrelevant-incentive latent learning as the multicue LCP task. In addition, Experiment 1 replicated the finding that a compartment preference based on this latent learning requires a deprivation state during the preference test, while a compartment preference based on conditioning does not. Experiment 2 examined the effects of pretraining neurotoxin lesions of the EC, DH, and VH on this single-cue LCP task. Results showed that lesions of the EC and VH disrupted the irrelevant-incentive latent learning, while lesions of the DH did not. These results indicate that a latent learning task that involves one discrete compartment cue, rather than several compartmental cues, does not require the DH. Therefore, the EC appears to play a central role in single-cue latent learning in the LCP task.

Interactions between orbital prefrontal cortex and amygdala: advanced cognition, learned responses and instinctive behaviors

Recent research indicates that the orbital prefrontal cortex (PFo) represents stimulus valuations and that the amygdala updates these valuations. An exploration of how PFo and the amygdala interact could improve the understanding of both. PFo and the amygdala function cooperatively when monkeys choose objects associated with recently revalued foods. In other tasks, they function in opposition. PFo uses positive feedback to promote learning in object-reward reversal tasks, and PFo also promotes extinction learning. Amygdala function interferes with both kinds of learning. The amygdala underlies fearful responses to a rubber snake from the first exposure on, but PFo is necessary only after the initial exposure. The amygdala mediates an arousal response in anticipation of rewards, whereas PFo sometimes suppresses such arousal. A role for PFo in advanced cognition, for the amygdala in instinctive behavior, and for cortex-subcortex interactions in prioritizing behaviors provides one account for these findings.

Roles of learning and motivation in preference behavior: Mediation by entorhinal cortex, dorsal and ventral hippocampus

In the latent cue preference (LCP) task, water-deprived rats alternately drink a salt solution in one distinctive compartment of a conditioned cue preference (CCP) apparatus and water in the other compartment over 8 days (training trials). They are then given a choice between the two compartments with no solutions present (preference test). Previous findings showed that this training procedure results in two parallel forms of learning: conditioning to water-paired cues (a water-CCP) and latent learning of an association between salt and salt-paired compartment cues (a salt-LCP). Experiment 1 examined these two types of learning in isolation. Results showed that expression of the salt-LCP required salt deprivation during testing, but expression of the water-CCP did not require a deprivation state during testing. Other results showed that salt-LCP learning itself involves two distinct components: (1) the latent association among neutral cues in the salt-paired compartment, and (2) motivational information about salt deprivation during testing. Previous findings also demonstrated roles for the dorsal hippocampus (DH), ventral hippocampus (VH), and entorhinal cortex (EC) in salt-LCP learning. Experiment 2 examined the involvement of these structures during acquisition or expression of salt-LCP learning. Rats with cannulas aimed at DH, VH, or EC were given infusions of muscimol, either before exposure to the salt-paired, but not the water-paired, compartment during training or before the preference test. Inactivation of the DH or EC impaired both acquisition and expression of the association between salt and salt-paired compartment cues, while inactivation of the VH disrupted the influence of motivational information about salt deprivation required to express the salt-LCP. These results suggest unique roles for the EC-DH circuit and VH in salt-LCP learning, as well as a functional dissociation between the DH and VH.