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Preserved spatial memory after hippocampal lesions: effects of extensive experience in a complex environment

Nature Neuroscience volume 8, pages 273–275 (2005)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 April 2005

Abstract

Damage to the hippocampus typically impairs spatial learning and memory in animals, but humans with hippocampal lesions retain spatial memories of premorbidly familiar environments. We showed that, like humans, normal rats reared in a complex environment and then given hippocampal lesions retained allocentric spatial memory for that environment. These results, which ruled out dependency on single cues, landmarks or specific routes, suggest that extensive premorbid experience leads to spatial representations that are independent of the hippocampus.

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Figure 1: The village and postoperative test results for the first series of experiments.
Figure 2
Figure 3: Test results for second series of experiments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada grants to G.W. and M.M. R.S.R. is supported by a Heart and Stroke Foundation/Canadian Institutes of Health Research postdoctoral fellowship. We thank H. Eichenbaum, P. Frankland and L. Nadel for their comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, M6A 2E1, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur & R Shayna Rosenbaum

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 1A1, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur & Morris Moscovitch

  3. Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, K9J 7B8, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon Winocur, Morris Moscovitch, Stuart Fogel & Melanie Sekeres

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  1. Gordon Winocur
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  2. Morris Moscovitch
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  3. Stuart Fogel
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  4. R Shayna Rosenbaum
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  5. Melanie Sekeres
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Correspondence to Gordon Winocur.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Winocur, G., Moscovitch, M., Fogel, S. et al. Preserved spatial memory after hippocampal lesions: effects of extensive experience in a complex environment. Nat Neurosci 8, 273–275 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1401

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