en Cellular and molecular Neuroscience Cellular and molecular Neuroscience Original Original <p align="left" ><p><b><font color="#221e1f" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" size="2">Introduction: </font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">The dorsal striatum plays an important role in the control of motor activity and learning processes within the basal ganglia circuitry. Furthermore, recent works have suggested functional differentiation between subregions of the dorsal striatum </font></font></font><b><font color="#221e1f" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" size="2"><p align="justify">Methods: </p></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">The present study examined the effects of bilateral electrolytic lesions of the dorsomedial striatum on motor behavior and learning ability in rats using a series of behavioral tests. 20 male wistar rats were used in the experiment and </font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">behavioral assessment were conducted using open field test, rotarod test and </font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">8-arm radial maze. </font></font></font><b><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><p align="justify">Results: </p></font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">In the open field test, rats with bilateral electrolytic lesions of the </font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">dorsomedial striatum showed a normal motor function in the horizontal locomotor </font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">activity, while in rearing activity they displayed a statistically significant motor impairment when compared to sham operated group. In the rotarod test, a deficit </font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">in motor coordination and acquisition of skilled behavior was observed in rats with bilateral electrolytic lesions of the dorsomedial striatum compared to sham. However, radial maze performance revealed similar capacity in the acquisition of learning task between experimental groups. </font></font></font><b><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><p>Discussion: </p></font></font></font><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2"><font color="#221e1f" face="Times New Roman,Times New Roman" size="2">Our results support the premise of the existence of functional dissociation between the dorsomedial and the dorsolateral regions of the dorsal striatum. In addition, our data suggest that the associative dorsomedial striatum may be as critical in striatum-based motor control. </font></font></font></b></b></b></b></p> Motor functions; Spatial learning; Rats; Dorsomedial striatum; Electrolytic lesions 52 59 http://bcn.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-121&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Pamphyle Abedi Mukutenga 1370031947532846002057 1370031947532846002057 Yes Khalid Taghzouti 1370031947532846002058 1370031947532846002058 No Wail A. Bengelloun 1370031947532846002059 1370031947532846002059 No