?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Search+strategies+on+a+hoile-board+are+impaired+with+ventral+tegmental+damage%3A+animal+model+for+tests+of+thought+disorder&rft.creator=Oades%2C+&rft.subject=Behavioral+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Behavioral+Biology&rft.subject=Physiological+Psychology&rft.subject=Psychobiology&rft.description=Introduction%3A+%0AAttention-related+mechanisms+distinguish+relevance+from+irrelevance.+A+disturbance+of+this+capability+underlies+thought-disorder+in+schizophrenia+(e.g.+see+Oades%2C+Attention+and+Schizophrenia.+Pitman+Press%2C+1982).%0AStimulus+choice+strategies+depend%2C+inter+alia%2C+on+such+selective+mechanisms+and+are+anomalous+in+some+patients+with+schizophrenia%2C+a+disorder+in+which+ventral+tegmental+area+(VTA)+functions+have+been+postulated+to+be+impaired.%0AHere%2C+the+effects+of+VTA+damage+on+making+the+relevance%2Firrelevance+distinction+and+the+formation+of+problem-solving+strategies+has+been+studied+in+rats.%0A%0AMethods%3A%0AFood-deprived+animals+searched+for+food+pellets+placed+consistently+in+4+holes+of+a+16-hole-board+(figure+2).+They+were+presented+with+9+sessions+of+10+trials%2Fsession.+VTA+damage+resulted+from+coagulation+with+a+stylet+inserted+down+a+stereotaxically+implanted+cannula%2C+sham+operations+consisted+of+cannula+placement+alone+(figure+1).%0A%0AResults%3A+%0A1%2F+a)+Across+sessions+the+control+group+reduced+the+number+of+empty+hole-visits+(errors)+more+rapidly+than+the+lesioned+animals%3A%0Ab)+the+proportion+of+repeated+visits+to+relevant+holes+(had+contained+food%2C+working+memory+errors)+to+irrelevant+holes+(had+never+contained+food%2C+reference+memory+errors)+increased+for+intact%2C+but+not+for+lesioned+animals.+%0A2%2F+Intact+animals+developed+a+preferred+sequence+of+hole-visits+(a+strategy)+across+sessions%3A+this+habit+was+not+learned+by+the+lesioned+animals.+%0A3%2F+The+animals+with+VTA+damage+developed+a+preference+across+trials+within+a+session+and+maintained+a+preference+for+the+first-hole+visited+across+sessions+(i.e.+were+capable+of+simple+learning)%2C+but+switched+their+preferred+overall+strategy+(hole-visit-sequence)+between+sessions.+%0A%0AConclusions%3A%0A.The+results+are+discussed+in+terms+of+a)+the+overall+behaviour+of+the+animals%2C+and+b)+the+interaction+between+selective+attention+and+the+establishment+of+a+short-term+working+memory+-+both+for+the+efficiency+of+search+(errors)+and+the+strategy+that+facilitates+search+success+(hole-visit-sequence).%0AIt+is+proposed+that+VTA+function+contributes+to+the+succesful+deployment+of+attention-related+strategies+in+rodents%2C+and+that+these+strategies+model+those+impaired+when+patients+with+schizophrenia+have+to+interpret+words+with+multiple+meanings%2C+categories+in+card-sorting+tasks+-+to+assess+the+contingencies+or+context+that+normally+control+the+making+of+a+choice.%0A&rft.publisher=Society+Biological+Psychiatry&rft.date=1982&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1462%2F2%2Frat-biol-psychiat-82.pdf&rft.identifier=++Oades%2C+++(1982)+Search+strategies+on+a+hoile-board+are+impaired+with+ventral+tegmental+damage%3A+animal+model+for+tests+of+thought+disorder.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F1462%2F