The effects of NMDA lesions centered on the postrhinal cortex on spatial memory tasks in the rat

Rats with bilateral N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions centered on the postrhinal cortex (POR) and sham lesions were tested in a series of spatial memory tasks. The POR-lesioned rats were significantly impaired compared with sham rats in the reference memory version of both the water maze and radial arm maze tasks and in the standard radial arm maze working memory task. The POR-lesioned rats displayed a delay-independent impairment in the working memory versions of the water maze and in a delayed nonmatching-to-place (DNMP) version of the radial arm maze task. The POR-lesioned rats were also impaired in a DNMP procedure conducted in the T-maze. These findings indicate that the POR has a delay-independent role in the processing of spatial information.