Requirement of Prefrontal and Midbrain Regions for Rapid Executive Control of Behavior in the Rat

摘要: To study rapid sensorimotor remapping, we developed a method to train rats in behavior which subjects are cued, on each trial, apply association orient either toward visual target ("Pro") or away from it, its reverse ("Anti"). Multiple behavioral asymmetries suggested that Anti is cognitively demanding while Pro easier learn and perform. This consistent with prominent hypothesis the primate literature requires prefrontal cortex (PFC), whereas could be mediated by midbrain superior colliculus (SC). Pharmacological inactivation of rat medial PFC supported expected role Anti. Remarkably, bilateral SC substantially impaired leaving essentially intact. Moreover, eliminated performance cost switching tasks. Our results establish rodent model single-trial remapping suggest critical for task.