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Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

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The ventral hippocampus is necessary for expressing a spatial memory.

Michael Loureiro¹, Lucas Lecourtier, Michel Engeln

¹Laboratoire d'Imagerie et de Neurosciences Cognitives, UMR 7237, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IFR 37 des Neurosciences, GDR CNRS 2905 Neuromem, 12 rue Goethe, 67000 Strasbourg, France.

Brain Structure & Function

|June 14, 2011

Summary

The dorsal hippocampus (DHipp) and ventral hippocampus (VHipp) are both crucial for spatial memory retrieval. Inactivating either region before testing impairs memory recall, suggesting their involvement in memory expression.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

The dorsal hippocampus (DHipp) is traditionally linked to spatial memory, while the ventral hippocampus (VHipp) is associated with emotion and stress.
Distinct connectivity, electrophysiological properties, and lesion effects support a functional segregation between DHipp and VHipp.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the roles of the DHipp and VHipp in spatial memory acquisition and retrieval using reversible inactivation in rats.
To determine the necessity of both DHipp and VHipp for memory expression at different post-acquisition delays.

Main Methods:

Reversible inactivation of the DHipp or VHipp using lidocaine infusions in rats before probe trials.
Assessment of spatial memory performance in a water-maze task at 1 and 5 days post-acquisition.
Control experiments to rule out confounds such as locomotor, sensorimotor, motivational, or anxiety-related biases.

Main Results:

Lidocaine infusions into either the DHipp or VHipp before a probe trial significantly impaired spatial memory retrieval at both 1 and 5 days post-acquisition.
Pre-training inactivation of the VHipp did not prevent task acquisition or subsequent drug-free retrieval.
Pre-training inactivation of the DHipp impaired performance in a later drug-free probe trial, suggesting a role in memory consolidation or expression.

Conclusions:

While spatial memory can be acquired with less efficiency by the VHipp, both DHipp and VHipp are essential for memory retrieval and/or the expression of spatial representations.
The dorsoventral axis of the hippocampus is engaged during memory retrieval when the task has been learned with a fully functional hippocampus.