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HEAD DIRECTION CELL NETWORK AND SPATIAL NAVIGATION: EFFECTS OF SILENCING ANTERODORSAL THALAMIC NEURONS USING DREADDS

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Date Issued:
2023
Abstract/Description:
While the thalamus and hippocampus are generally understood to contribute to mammalian spatial navigation, the degree to which thalamic input contributes to representations of space during navigation remains unclear. Specifically, anterior dorsal thalamic nuclei (ADN) provide a relational or directional framework known as the head direction (HD) network, which is hypothesized to play a significant role in guiding hippocampal-dependent navigation. The current study focuses on the contribution of the ADN to direction and place-dependent spatial navigation in adult male C57BL6J mice. An inhibitory chemogenetic (hM4Di) receptor was bilaterally expressed in the ADN after viral stereotaxic injection. Mice were trained in a spatially focused task, the Morris water maze (MWM), and after systemic administration of the hM4Di agonist, clozapine-Noxide (CNO) at 5mg/kg, demonstrated equivalent preference for using directional or place-based search behavior. These results suggest that the selective silencing of ADN at 5mg/kg CNO does not negatively affect spatial navigation in mice.
Title: HEAD DIRECTION CELL NETWORK AND SPATIAL NAVIGATION: EFFECTS OF SILENCING ANTERODORSAL THALAMIC NEURONS USING DREADDS.
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Name(s): Crafton, Brittany Nicole, author
Stackman Jr., Robert W. , Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Department of Psychology
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2023
Date Issued: 2023
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 71 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: While the thalamus and hippocampus are generally understood to contribute to mammalian spatial navigation, the degree to which thalamic input contributes to representations of space during navigation remains unclear. Specifically, anterior dorsal thalamic nuclei (ADN) provide a relational or directional framework known as the head direction (HD) network, which is hypothesized to play a significant role in guiding hippocampal-dependent navigation. The current study focuses on the contribution of the ADN to direction and place-dependent spatial navigation in adult male C57BL6J mice. An inhibitory chemogenetic (hM4Di) receptor was bilaterally expressed in the ADN after viral stereotaxic injection. Mice were trained in a spatially focused task, the Morris water maze (MWM), and after systemic administration of the hM4Di agonist, clozapine-Noxide (CNO) at 5mg/kg, demonstrated equivalent preference for using directional or place-based search behavior. These results suggest that the selective silencing of ADN at 5mg/kg CNO does not negatively affect spatial navigation in mice.
Identifier: FA00014247 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Spatial Navigation
Anterior Thalamic Nuclei
Spatial Memory
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014247
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU