Circadian modulation of conditioned place avoidance in hamsters does not require the suprachiasmatic nucleus

Animals possess the ability to remember both the time of day as well as the location that noxious and potentially dangerous conditions occur. A behavioral expression of this learning is demonstrated in conditioned place avoidance (CPA). CPA is strongest when the time of testing matches the time of day that the prior training had occurred, suggesting the involvement of a circadian oscillator that modulates either memory retrieval or reactivity to the conditioned environment. In these experiments we show that time of day learning persists in the absence of the central circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), demonstrating that memory for time of day is implicit in context conditioning and may involve a circadian oscillator that is distinct from the SCN.