GLIAL RNA CHANGES DURING A LEARNING EXPERIMENT IN RATS

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Abstract
Purine-pyrimidine analyses were carried out on glial RNA immediately surrounding Deiters'' neurons from rats subjected to a learning experiment during which complicated motor and sensory behavior was established. The adenine/uracil ratio of the glial RNA increased significantly while the cytosine decreased. Nuclear RNA had previously been found to be formed in Deiters'' nerve cells during such learning experiments. Several types of control experiments were performed to exclude the possibility that the formation of RNA with highly specific base ratios was due to demands on neural function per se. It has been shown that the neuron and the neuronal glia compose a functional unit and the significance of the RNA glia-neuron changes in learning is discussed. It is suggested that the learning during the life cycle by "change by use" involves a utilization of a genetically stable mechanism of the neuron-glia unit and is reflected in the observed RNA changes.