Hippocampal lesions disrupt navigation based on the shape of the environment

McGregor, A.; Hayward, A.J.; Pearce, J.M.; Good, M.A.

Abstract

Geometric information provided by the walls of an environment has a strong influence over hippocampal unit activity. This suggests that the hippocampus forms part of a cognitive mapping system that encodes geometric relationships between environmental cues and the animal's location. Here, the authors show for the first time that excitotoxic lesions of the hippocampus disrupt the ability of rats to navigate to a goal using shape information provided by a solid-walled arena and an array of identical landmarks. These results are consistent with cognitive mapping theories of hippocampal function and extend previous research by showing that hippocampal cell loss impairs navigation with respect to shape information provided by both physical barriers and an array of landmarks.

Citation

McGregor, A., Hayward, A., Pearce, J., & Good, M. (2004). Hippocampal lesions disrupt navigation based on the shape of the environment. Behavioral Neuroscience, 118(5), 1011-1021. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.118.5.1011

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2004-10
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2009
• Journal: Behavioral Neuroscience
• Print ISSN: 0735-7044
• Electronic ISSN: 1939-0084
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 118
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1011-1021
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.118.5.1011
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1549533