Spatial learning-related changes in metabolic activity of limbic structures at different posttask delays

The aim of this study was to assess the functional contribution of brain limbic system regions at different moments after the acquisition of a short-term spatial memory task performed in the Morris water maze. Adult male Wistar rats were submitted to a matching-to-sample procedure with a hidden platform. The trials were made up of two daily identical visits to the platform, sample (swim-1) and retention (swim-2). To study oxidative metabolic activity, we applied cytochrome oxidase (COx) histochemistry. Densitometric measurements were taken at 1.5, 6, 24, and 48 hr posttask. An untrained group was added to explore the COx changes not specific to the learning process. The brain regions studied showed a different pattern of metabolic activity at different time points after the spatial memory task. Specifically, a significant increase of COx was found in the septal dentate gyrus, anteromedial thalamus, medial mammillary nucleus, and entorhinal cortex at early moments after learning. The entorhinal cortex maintained an increase of COx at later stages of the posttask period. In addition, an increase of COx activity was found in the supramammillary nucleus and the retrosplenial, perirhinal, and parietal cortices a long time after learning. These findings suggest that diencephalic and cortical regions are involved in this spatial learning and contribute at different moments to process this information. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.