Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Stackman Jr., Robert W.

Abstract

While the thalamus and hippocampus are generally understood to contribute to mammalian spatial navigation, the degree to which thalamic input contributes to representations of space during navigation remains unclear. Specifically, anterior dorsal thalamic nuclei (ADN) provide a relational or directional framework known as the head direction (HD) network, which is hypothesized to play a significant role in guiding hippocampal-dependent navigation. The current study focuses on the contribution of the ADN to direction and place-dependent spatial navigation in adult male C57BL6J mice. An inhibitory chemogenetic (hM4Di) receptor was bilaterally expressed in the ADN after viral stereotaxic injection. Mice were trained in a spatially focused task, the Morris water maze (MWM), and after systemic administration of the hM4Di agonist, clozapine-Noxide (CNO) at 5mg/kg, demonstrated equivalent preference for using directional or place-based search behavior. These results suggest that the selective silencing of ADN at 5mg/kg CNO does not negatively affect spatial navigation in mice.

Extent

71 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MA)--Florida Atlantic University, 2023.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00014247

Format

pdf

Download

Share

COinS