Movement-Associated Neural Excitation as a Factor in Spatial Representational Memory in Rats

The hypothesis that rats require an attentionlike function arising from integration of exteroceptive and movement-related excitation during the information phase of representational memory-dependent discriminations is proposed. Experiments 1A and 1B (both behavioral) demonstrated the crucial importa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral neuroscience 1990-08, Vol.104 (4), p.552-563
Main Authors: Thomas, Garth J, Gash, Don M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal
Animal behavior
Animals
Association Learning - physiology
Attention - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Mapping
Central nervous system
Discrimination Learning - physiology
Electrical Activity
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Male
Mental Recall - physiology
Motion Perception
Motor Activity - physiology
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Orientation - physiology
Parietal Lobe - physiology
Problem Solving - physiology
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Rodents
Spatial Memory
Synaptic Transmission - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:The hypothesis that rats require an attentionlike function arising from integration of exteroceptive and movement-related excitation during the information phase of representational memory-dependent discriminations is proposed. Experiments 1A and 1B (both behavioral) demonstrated the crucial importance of movement-related excitation (angle of turn at T-maze choice point). Experiment 2 showed that, contrary to plausible expectations, ablation of putative posterior parietal association cortex only mildly affected memory. This finding agrees with the notion of a nonspecific mass action-equipotential effect of ablations in nondifferentiated cortex on memory rather than the specific effects resulting from dorsolateral prefrontal ablations in primates. Instead, it is proposed from previous data that the hippocampus integrates movement-related and exteroceptive excitations necessary for representational memory, which is largely restricted to spatial attributes in rats.
ISSN:0735-7044
1939-0084
DOI:10.1037/0735-7044.104.4.552