Asymmetric incorporation of [14C]cyanate and of fluorescein isothiocyanate in mamillary body of conditioned rats.

A marked decrease in overall learning capacity has been observed in rats injected with cyanate. Therefore it was of interest to test whether learning influenced carbamylation of brain proteins. Incorporation of [14C]cyanate into proteins of the mamillary body was selectively modified following operant conditioning of the rat, so that trained rats showed an asymmetric image with higher levels of incorporation in the right side than in the left side, as compared to control rats. These results were confirmed using fluorescein isothiocyanate. The asymmetry persisted once the learning had been well established.