Figure 3.

Effects of infusions of NMDA into the NAc shell (n = 28) on attentional performance in the absence (SAT; b, e, h, k) or presence (dSAT; c, f, i, l) of a distractor (task blocks 3 and 4). The graphs in the left column (a, d, g, j) depict the animals' performance during the first block of trials, before infusions into the NAc shell of performing animals and for both task conditions. In SAT performing animals (middle column), NAc infusions did not affect performance except for an increase in omissions caused by the highest dose of NMDA (k). In contrast, in dSAT performing animals, infusions of NMDA restored the animals' performance (dSAT score) to a level statistically similar to the performance of vehicle-treated animals in the absence of a distractor. This effect was due to the combined effects on hits (f) and correct rejections (i), although neither individual measure was solely responsible for the overall effect of NMDA. k, l, In SAT and dSAT performing animals, the highest dose of NMDA increased omissions (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; LSD).