Inactivation of Dorsolateral Striatum Impairs Acquisition of Response Learning in Cue-Deficient, but Not Cue-Available, Conditions

Rats received bilateral injections of lidocaine or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) into the dorsolateral striatum 6 min prior to training in either a plus- or T-shaped maze under cue-poor or cue-available conditions. Lidocaine injections significantly impaired acquisition in the cue-poor environments, but not in the cue-available environments. In addition, aCSF control rats trained in a plus-maze in a cue-poor environment reached criterion much more rapidly than did rats trained in a cue-available environment. These findings suggest that cue availability can permit acquisition of response learning in a manner that is not dependent on activity of the striatum. However, in a cue-poor environment, alternate strategies may be less readily available, revealing more efficient striatal involvement in response learning.