Title:The Neurochemical Anatomy of Runway Acquisition and Extinction
Volume: 12
Author(s): Robert Lalonde*Catherine Strazielle
Affiliation:
- Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire (Stress, Immunité, Pathogènes) EA 7300, Campus Santé, 9 avenue de la Forêt de
Haye, 54500 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
Keywords:
Dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, GABA, hippocampus, septum, anterior cingulate, behavioral inhibition.
Abstract: A review is presented as to the neurochemical basis of the straight runway task, usually
consisting of an acquisition phase followed by an extinction phase. During the acquisition of the
appetitive runway task, running speeds from the start box to the goal box progressively increase
over trials and then decrease when the reward is withheld. Runway extinction is susceptible to lesions
of the limbic system, including the medial frontal cortex, the hippocampus, the septum, the
amygdala, and the dorsomedial thalamus. When specific neurotransmitter systems are examined,
extinction was delayed when noradrenaline transmission was impeded, perhaps involving noradrenergic
projections to the hippocampus and neocortex. Extinction was likewise delayed after either
facilitation or blocking of dopamine transmission, a result implicating an inverted U-shaped function
caused by dopamine’s role in behavioral activation or reward processes. Extinction was also
delayed by indirect GABAA receptor agonists injected during acquisition, explained by druginduced
disinhibitory tendencies. This simple paradigm may provide information about the effects
of a physiological manipulation on both cognition and emotion.