{"id":{"repo_id":"sask","oai_identifier":"oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/7626"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/sask/oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/7626","repository":{"repo_id":"sask","name":"University of Saskatchewan","base_url":"https://harvest.usask.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The medial prefrontal cortex and the dorsomedial striatum are necessary for working memory in rats: role of NMDA receptors","abstract":"Working memory is a form of short-term memory involved in the storage (maintenance) of information over time and reorganization (manipulation) of a memory set necessary for complex cognition. The human frontal cortex and striatum are involved with working memory; however, the mechanisms through which these structures contribute to working memory are incompletely understood. Given the similarities between cortical and striatal areas in the human and rodent brain, I used rats to elucidate the contrbutions of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsomedial striatum (dmSTR) using two working memory tasks. The trial unique non-match to location (TUNL) task is a delayed-non-match-to-sample visual working memory task performed in touchscreen equipped operant conditioning chambers. TUNL enables the concurrent assessment of delay-dependent and “pattern separation” effects that were not possible with previous delayed-non-match-to-sample-tasks. The odour span task (OST) measures working memory capacity using an incremental delayed-non-match-to-sample paradigm that involves the addition of stimuli (scented bowls) after each correct response. Results obtained following systemic treatment of rats with a broad spectrum NMDA receptor antagonist showed that NMDA receptors contribute to performance of both tasks. Given the contribution of cortical GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors to working memory in primates, we tested the role of these receptors in the TUNL task and OST. Systemic injections of the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 impaired OST but not TUNL accuracy. Additional experiments with intracranial infusions showed NMDA receptors in mPFC or dmSTR contribute to TUNL task accuracy. Ro 25-6981 infusions into dmSTR, but not mPFC impaired OST. These experiments contribute to our understanding of the role NMDA receptors perform in mPFC and dmSTR in working memory.","abstract_html":"Working memory is a form of short-term memory involved in the storage (maintenance) of information over time and reorganization (manipulation) of a memory set necessary for complex cognition. The human frontal cortex and striatum are involved with working memory; however, the mechanisms through which these structures contribute to working memory are incompletely understood. Given the similarities between cortical and striatal areas in the human and rodent brain, I used rats to elucidate the contrbutions of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsomedial striatum (dmSTR) using two working memory tasks. The trial unique non-match to location (TUNL) task is a delayed-non-match-to-sample visual working memory task performed in touchscreen equipped operant conditioning chambers. TUNL enables the concurrent assessment of delay-dependent and “pattern separation” effects that were not possible with previous delayed-non-match-to-sample-tasks. The odour span task (OST) measures working memory capacity using an incremental delayed-non-match-to-sample paradigm that involves the addition of stimuli (scented bowls) after each correct response. Results obtained following systemic treatment of rats with a broad spectrum NMDA receptor antagonist showed that NMDA receptors contribute to performance of both tasks. Given the contribution of cortical GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors to working memory in primates, we tested the role of these receptors in the TUNL task and OST. Systemic injections of the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 impaired OST but not TUNL accuracy. Additional experiments with intracranial infusions showed NMDA receptors in mPFC or dmSTR contribute to TUNL task accuracy. Ro 25-6981 infusions into dmSTR, but not mPFC impaired OST. These experiments contribute to our understanding of the role NMDA receptors perform in mPFC and dmSTR in working memory.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Davies, Don 1985-"],"institution":"University of Saskatchewan","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Physiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Howland, John"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Mulligan, Sean","Campanucci, Veronica","Borowsky, Ron"],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-19","date_published":"2016-12-19","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:27:16Z","subjects":["Glutamate"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10388/7626","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Howland, John"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Mulligan, Sean","Campanucci, Veronica","Borowsky, Ron"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Davies, Don 1985-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2016-12-19T15:02:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-12-19T15:02:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2016-12-19"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Physiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Saskatchewan"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Glutamate"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10388/7626"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Working memory is a form of short-term memory involved in the storage (maintenance) of information over time and reorganization (manipulation) of a memory set necessary for complex cognition. The human frontal cortex and striatum are involved with working memory; however, the mechanisms through which these structures contribute to working memory are incompletely understood. Given the similarities between cortical and striatal areas in the human and rodent brain, I used rats to elucidate the contrbutions of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsomedial striatum (dmSTR) using two working memory tasks. The trial unique non-match to location (TUNL) task is a delayed-non-match-to-sample visual working memory task performed in touchscreen equipped operant conditioning chambers. TUNL enables the concurrent assessment of delay-dependent and “pattern separation” effects that were not possible with previous delayed-non-match-to-sample-tasks. The odour span task (OST) measures working memory capacity using an incremental delayed-non-match-to-sample paradigm that involves the addition of stimuli (scented bowls) after each correct response. Results obtained following systemic treatment of rats with a broad spectrum NMDA receptor antagonist showed that NMDA receptors contribute to performance of both tasks. Given the contribution of cortical GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors to working memory in primates, we tested the role of these receptors in the TUNL task and OST. Systemic injections of the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 impaired OST but not TUNL accuracy. Additional experiments with intracranial infusions showed NMDA receptors in mPFC or dmSTR contribute to TUNL task accuracy. Ro 25-6981 infusions into dmSTR, but not mPFC impaired OST. These experiments contribute to our understanding of the role NMDA receptors perform in mPFC and dmSTR in working memory."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The medial prefrontal cortex and the dorsomedial striatum are necessary for working memory in rats: role of NMDA receptors"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Howland, John"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Mulligan, Sean","Campanucci, Veronica","Borowsky, Ron"],"dc:creator":["Davies, Don 1985-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2016-12-19T15:02:23Z"],"dc:date.available":["2016-12-19T15:02:23Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2016-12-19"],"dc:description.abstract":["Working memory is a form of short-term memory involved in the storage (maintenance) of information over time and reorganization (manipulation) of a memory set necessary for complex cognition. The human frontal cortex and striatum are involved with working memory; however, the mechanisms through which these structures contribute to working memory are incompletely understood. Given the similarities between cortical and striatal areas in the human and rodent brain, I used rats to elucidate the contrbutions of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsomedial striatum (dmSTR) using two working memory tasks. The trial unique non-match to location (TUNL) task is a delayed-non-match-to-sample visual working memory task performed in touchscreen equipped operant conditioning chambers. TUNL enables the concurrent assessment of delay-dependent and “pattern separation” effects that were not possible with previous delayed-non-match-to-sample-tasks. The odour span task (OST) measures working memory capacity using an incremental delayed-non-match-to-sample paradigm that involves the addition of stimuli (scented bowls) after each correct response. Results obtained following systemic treatment of rats with a broad spectrum NMDA receptor antagonist showed that NMDA receptors contribute to performance of both tasks. Given the contribution of cortical GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors to working memory in primates, we tested the role of these receptors in the TUNL task and OST. Systemic injections of the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 impaired OST but not TUNL accuracy. Additional experiments with intracranial infusions showed NMDA receptors in mPFC or dmSTR contribute to TUNL task accuracy. Ro 25-6981 infusions into dmSTR, but not mPFC impaired OST. These experiments contribute to our understanding of the role NMDA receptors perform in mPFC and dmSTR in working memory."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10388/7626"],"dc:subject":["Glutamate"],"dc:title":["The medial prefrontal cortex and the dorsomedial striatum are necessary for working memory in rats: role of NMDA receptors"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Physiology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Saskatchewan"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:27:16Z"}