Performance of rats on the Maier three-table task following septal lesions occurring 24 hours after birth

The purpose of this study was to determine whether behavioral sparing would be demonstrated when septal lesions occurred prior to the age at which the tested behavior first appears in normal rats. Rats given septal lesions at 1 day or 7 days after birth performed at approximately chance on the Maier three-table task when tested at 90 days of age. Rats that had control electrode insertions at the same ages performed at a level similar to normal animals. Animals given septal lesions at either age explored significantly more than did control animals. Results are discussed in terms of the constancy over time of the septal contribution to performance on the three-table task and the involvement of the septum and hippocampus in the processing of spatial information.