MOLECULAR NEUROCHEMISTRY OF THE BRAIN DURING CONDITIONED AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate neurochemical changes in brain tissue of rats in a one way active avoidance conditioning task. The dependent variables were amounts of RNA, DNA, and proteins; ratios of these three; the specific activity of RNA, protein, and tissue pool fractions; and the relative specific activity of RNA and protein fractions. Lower amounts of labelled precursors were found in the tissue pool, RNA, and protein fractions in most brain tissues of learning animals than in control rats. The results concerning individual brain tissues suggested that the medial ventral cortex, and possibly the medial dorsal cortex, play an important role in this type of learning. (Author)