Effects of methylazoxymethanol-induced micrencephaly on temporal response differentiation and progressive ratio responding in rats

Micrencephalic Sprague-Dawley rats were produced byan injection of 20 mg/kg methylazoxymethanol acetate on gestational Day 14. Brain weights of the offspring were 70% of controls while weights of frontal cortex and hippocampus were approximately 58% (Ferguson, Racey, Paule, & Holson, 1993). Operant perforamnce was measured with particular emphasis on assessment of time estimation. The temporal response differentiation (TRD) and the progressive ratio (PR) tasks, previously used in the NCTR operant test battery for monkeys, were chosen for evaluation. The TRD schedule is notably different from other temporal tasks in that it requires subjects to initiate and maintain a lever press for 10–14 s. The PR task was included as a measure of motivation to work for food reinforcers. Micrencephalics acquired and performed both tasks comparably to controls. During extinction, however, micrencephalics exhibited an increased TRD lever hold duration. This suggests an atypical response perseveration, that is, perserverating the previously correct response. Previously, frontal cortical alterations were suggested to contribute heavily to micrencephalic-induced behavioral alterations (Ferguson et al., 1993). This study provides further evidence that response perseveration, a hallmark of frontal cortical lesions, is expressed in micrencephalic rats.