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Memory Impairments Following Lesions to the Mammillary Region of the Rat
Author(s) -
Sziklas Viviane,
Petrides Michael
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.1993.tb00518.x
Subject(s) - mammillary body , neuroscience , spatial learning , spatial memory , psychology , dissociation (chemistry) , cognitive psychology , computer science , working memory , cognition , thalamus , chemistry
The contribution of the mammillary region to learning and memory was investigated. It was demonstrated that lesions of this region impair performance on tasks that require memory for spatial information but that the deficit depends both on the amount of damage within the region and the difficulty of the task. A dissociation in the effect of such lesions on performance of comparable spatial and non‐spatial memory tasks was shown. In contrast to the deficits observed on spatial memory tasks, the acquisition and retention of a complex non‐spatial memory task was not impaired after extensive damage to the mammillary region. Such lesions also did not impair performance in a conditioned taste aversion task. These experiments suggest that the mammillary region may be selectively involved in spatial learning and memory.