Does the effect of central 5-hydroxytryptamine depletion on timing depend on motivational change?

Abstract

In a previous experiment we found that destruction of the ascending 5-hydroxytryptaminergic (5HTergic) pathways by microinjection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine into the dorsal and median raphe nuclei resulted in impaired acquisition of temporal differentiation under an interresponse-time-greater-than-15-s (IRT>15 s) schedule of sucrose reinforcement. This paper reports three experiments, the results of which bear on the interpretation of that finding. In Experiment 1, 32 rats were trained for 120 sessions under the IRT>15 s schedule; then 16 received lesions of the 5HTergic pathways and 16 received sham lesions. Comparisons of the IRT frequency distributions of the two groups showed that the lesion produced a significant reduction of the mean IRT and an increase in the dispersion of IRTs, as expressed by the coefficient of variation. Obtained reinforcement rates were significantly reduced in the lesioned group, but response rates were not significantly altered. Levels of 5HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid were markedly reduced in all forebrain areas examined, without significant change in noradrenaline and dopamine levels. The results indicate that destruction of the 5HTergic pathways disrupts performance as well as acquisition of temporal differentiation. Experiments 2 and 3 examined whether changes in deprivation level and reinforcer magnitude, which are known to affect reinforcer value, would influence temporal differentiation in a similar fashion to destruction of the 5HTergic pathways. In experiment 2, 20 rats were trained under the IRT>15 s schedule while maintained at 80% or 90% of free-feeding body weight; the more severe deprivation condition was associated with alonger mean IRT and alower coefficient of variation. In experiment 3, 16 rats were trained under the IRT>15 s schedule using 100 µl or 20 µl of a 0.6 M sucrose solution as the reinforcer; indices of temporal differentiation did not differ between the two conditions. These results indicate that the deleterious effect of destruction of the 5HTergic pathways upon timing behaviour is unlikely to be secondary to the motivation enhancing effect of the lesion.