STUDIES OF THE EFFECTS OF MANIPULATION OF BRAIN METABOLISM ON LEARNING. I. VITAMIN B12. II. MAGNESIUM PEMOLINE (CYLERT). III. MALONONITRILE DIMER (U9189). IV. ANODAL POLARIZATION.
Abstract
Male rats were subjects in experiments on the effects of various chemical and electrical interventions on learning ability. The studies used a variety of behavioral testing situations ranging from simple escape to pattern discrimination. The following behavioral results were obtained: (1) vitamin B12 improved the learning of hooded rats in simple escape and pattern discrimination situations, (2) magnesium pemoline improved some types of performance, primarily those with speed components, and interfered with others, (3) malononitrile dimer had a generally detrimental effect on performance, the one exception being an improvement in one phase of spatial learning, and (4) in pilot experiments using small groups, anodal polarization of cortical tissue had no significant effect. The following chemical results were obtained: (1) vitamin B12 increased the concentration of RNA in the nucleoli of neurons in the cerebellum and spinal cord, (2) magnesium pemoline did not change the amount of C14 formate incorporated into newly synthesized RNA, and (3) malononitrile dimer increased incorporation of C14 formate into newly synthesized RNA. General conclusions are as follows: (1) elevation of neural RNA is not necessarily accompanied by improvements in learning ability, and (2) patterns of change in brain metabolism and learning ability produced by these interventions demonstrate the inadequacy of several theories and may eventually lead to an increased understanding of the biological basis of learning. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0660565
Entities
People
- John A. Corson
Organizations
- McGill University