Contributions of light- and food-entrainable oscillators to learning daily time-place tasks

Chaulk, Anne-Marie (2019) Contributions of light- and food-entrainable oscillators to learning daily time-place tasks. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Time-place learning (TPL) is the automatic encoding into memory information regarding the time and place of biologically significant events. Involvement of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and the food-entrainable oscillator (FEO) in a daily TPL task was examined. Lesions eliminated the ability to use the SCN in SCNx rats, while unpredictable meal times prevented the use of the FEO in FEOx rats. Rats able to use either oscillator were expected to learn the task. Rats that could only use the SCN, or “master” circadian oscillator, were expected to perform better than rats that could only use the FEO. The ability to use both oscillators could enhance performance or impair learning due to suppression of one by the other. Impairment was expected for rats that could use neither oscillator. No differences were found between the groups, indicating that the use of neither oscillator may be necessary, and that there may be no benefit to having the ability to use either, or both. However, it is likely that unsuccessful lesions affected the results. Unexpectedly, FEOx rats preferred ordinal timing, contradicting previous findings. Replication of this study would be beneficial.

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