Excitotoxic lesions of the hippocampus leave sensory preconditioning intact: implications for models of hippocampal function.

Learning about contextual cues is markedly disrupted in rats with hippocampal lesions. One analysis of this disruption is that it reflects a general failure to form associations between the elements of complex events. A straightforward prediction of this analysis is that sensory preconditioning wi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Behavioral Neuroscience Vol. 115; no. 6; pp. 1357 - 1363
Autores principales: Ward-Robinson, Jasper, Coutureau, Etienne, Good, Mark
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: American Psychological Association December 2001
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Learning about contextual cues is markedly disrupted in rats with hippocampal lesions. One analysis of this disruption is that it reflects a general failure to form associations between the elements of complex events. A straightforward prediction of this analysis is that sensory preconditioning will be disrupted by hippocampal lesions. This prediction was assessed by presenting rats with flavored solutions composed of 2 elements (A and X) before X was paired with an injection of the emetic, lithium chloride. A subsequent test revealed that rats were less willing to consume Solution A than they were to consume a control solution, B. This was true of rats with sham lesions and those with excitotoxic lesions of hippocampus. These findings fail to support the proposition that the hippocampus-dependent deficit in contextual conditioning is due to a general disruption to the process of associating the elements of complex events. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.