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Science 13 September 1974:
Vol. 185. no. 4155, pp. 960 - 962
DOI: 10.1126/science.185.4155.960
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Articles

Reversal by L-Dopa of Impaired Learning Due to Destruction of the Dopaminergic Nigro-Neostriatal Projection

Athanasios P. Zis 1, Hans C. Fibiger 1, and Anthony G. Phillips 2

1 Division of Neurological Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
2 Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia

Rats receiving bilateral stereotaxic injections of 6-hydroxydopamine into the zona compacta of the substantia nigra failed to learn a one-way active avoidance response. Small doses of L-dopa (1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) in combination with a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor reversed this impairment. Animals with lesions which acquired the avoidance response during L-dopa administration retained this response when drug treatment was discontinued. These experiments suggest that the dopaminergic nigro-neostriatal projection serves a critical function in the acquisition of learned instrumental responses.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)