Biomaterial Database

Chronic corticosterone treatment impairs spontaneous alternation behavior in rats. 1994

M E Bardgett, and G T Taylor, and J G Csernansky, and J W Newcomer, and B Nock

Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-St. Louis 63121.

The present study used behavioral and morphological measures to assess hippocampal integrity in adult male rats after 8 weeks of daily corticosterone (10 mg/kg) injections. Behavioral testing during the final week of treatment revealed that spontaneous alternation behavior, a behavioral marker of hippocampal damage, was reduced in experimental animals without influencing exploration. Physiological assessment indicated that steroid exposure produced functional changes characteristic of prolonged exposure to stress or elevated plasma corticosterone, i.e., lower body weight and thymic involution. However, hippocampal cell loss was not observed in experimental rats. The data suggest that prolonged elevation of plasma corticosterone may significantly disrupt a hippocampal-sensitive behavior without producing gross morphological changes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009474	Neurons	The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM.	Nerve Cells,Cell, Nerve,Cells, Nerve,Nerve Cell,Neuron
D009949	Orientation	Awareness of oneself in relation to time, place and person.	Cognitive Orientation,Mental Orientation,Psychological Orientation,Cognitive Orientations,Mental Orientations,Orientation, Cognitive,Orientation, Mental,Orientation, Psychological,Orientations,Orientations, Cognitive,Orientations, Mental,Orientations, Psychological,Psychological Orientations
D011939	Mental Recall	The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited.	Recall, Mental
D002452	Cell Count	The number of CELLS of a specific kind, usually measured per unit volume or area of sample.	Cell Density,Cell Number,Cell Counts,Cell Densities,Cell Numbers,Count, Cell,Counts, Cell,Densities, Cell,Density, Cell,Number, Cell,Numbers, Cell
D002466	Cell Nucleolus	Within most types of eukaryotic CELL NUCLEUS, a distinct region, not delimited by a membrane, in which some species of rRNA (RNA, RIBOSOMAL) are synthesized and assembled into ribonucleoprotein subunits of ribosomes. In the nucleolus rRNA is transcribed from a nucleolar organizer, i.e., a group of tandemly repeated chromosomal genes which encode rRNA and which are transcribed by RNA polymerase I. (Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology & Molecular Biology, 2d ed)	Plasmosome,Cell Nucleoli,Nucleoli, Cell,Nucleolus, Cell,Plasmosomes
D002755	Choice Behavior	The act of making a selection among two or more alternatives, usually after a period of deliberation.	Approach Behavior,Approach Behaviors,Behavior, Approach,Behavior, Choice,Behaviors, Approach,Behaviors, Choice,Choice Behaviors
D003345	Corticosterone	An adrenocortical steroid that has modest but significant activities as a mineralocorticoid and a glucocorticoid. (From Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 8th ed, p1437)
D004193	Discrimination Learning	Learning that is manifested in the ability to respond differentially to various stimuli.	Discriminative Learning,Discrimination Learnings,Discriminative Learnings,Learning, Discrimination,Learning, Discriminative
D006624	Hippocampus	A curved elevation of GRAY MATTER extending the entire length of the floor of the TEMPORAL HORN of the LATERAL VENTRICLE (see also TEMPORAL LOBE). The hippocampus proper, subiculum, and DENTATE GYRUS constitute the hippocampal formation. Sometimes authors include the ENTORHINAL CORTEX in the hippocampal formation.	Ammon Horn,Cornu Ammonis,Hippocampal Formation,Subiculum,Ammon's Horn,Hippocampus Proper,Ammons Horn,Formation, Hippocampal,Formations, Hippocampal,Hippocampal Formations,Hippocampus Propers,Horn, Ammon,Horn, Ammon's,Proper, Hippocampus,Propers, Hippocampus,Subiculums