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An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
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Dorsal hippocampus not always necessary in a radial arm maze delayed win-shift task
Dylan Layfield1, Nathan Sidell1, Afnan Abdullahi1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Indiana.
Hippocampus
|August 28, 2019
Summary
The dorsal hippocampus is not always essential for spatial working memory in rats over 8-minute delays. Overtraining appears to reduce the necessity of the dorsal hippocampus for this task.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Spatial working memory is crucial for survival behaviors like foraging and navigation.
- The hippocampus is traditionally considered essential for spatial working memory, especially over longer delays.
- Neural mechanisms underlying spatial working memory, particularly the role of the dorsal hippocampus, require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the necessity of the dorsal hippocampus for spatial working memory with an 8-minute retention interval.
- To determine if overtraining influences the dorsal hippocampus's role in spatial working memory.
Main Methods:
- Rats performed a delayed spatial win-shift radial arm maze task with an 8-minute delay.
- Bilateral inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus was induced using lidocaine infusions.
- Performance was compared between lidocaine-infused and control (PBS-infused) conditions in both overtrained and less-trained cohorts.
Main Results:
- In overtrained rats, dorsal hippocampal inactivation did not impair performance on the spatial working memory task.
- In rats with less training, dorsal hippocampal inactivation significantly impaired task performance.
- These findings challenge the universal necessity of the dorsal hippocampus for spatial working memory.
Conclusions:
- Successful performance on an 8-minute delayed spatial win-shift task may not always depend on the dorsal hippocampus.
- Task performance and dorsal hippocampal dependency are influenced by the extent of behavioral training.
- This suggests a flexible role for the dorsal hippocampus in spatial working memory, potentially mediated by compensatory strategies developed through extensive training.
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