Changes in fos expression in the rat brain after unilateral lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei

Trisha Jenkins, R. Dias, E. Amin, J.P. Aggleton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Activity of the immediate early gene c-fos was compared across hemispheres in rats with unilateral anterior thalamic lesions. Fos protein was quantified after rats performed a spatial working memory test in the radial-arm maze, a task that is sensitive to bilateral lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei. Unilateral anterior thalamic lesions produced evidence of a widespread hippocampal hypoactivity, as there were significant reductions in Fos counts in a range of regions within the ipsilateral hippocampal formation (rostral CA1, rostral dentate gyrus, 'dorsal' hippocampus, presubiculum and postsubiculum). A decrease in Fos levels was also found in the rostral and caudal retrosplenial cortex but not in the parahippocampal cortices or anterior cingulate cortices. The Fos changes seem most closely linked to sites that are also required for successful task performance, supporting the notion that the anterior thalamus, retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus form key components of an interdependent neuronal network involved in spatial mnemonic processing.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1425-1432
Number of pages8
JournalEuropean Journal of Neuroscience
Volume16(8)
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2002

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Changes in fos expression in the rat brain after unilateral lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this