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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 22, 2009, 29(29):9396-9404; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0746-09.2009

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Long-Lasting Working Memories of Obstacles Established by Foreleg Stepping in Walking Cats Require Area 5 of the Posterior Parietal Cortex

David A. McVea,¹ Andrew J. Taylor,² and Keir G. Pearson²

¹Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada, and ²Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H7, Canada

Correspondence should be addressed to David A. McVea, Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 4N1-2255 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Email: dmcvea{at}interchange.ubc.ca

Walking animals rely on working memory to avoid obstacles. One example is the stepping of the hindlegs of quadrupeds over an obstacle. In this case, the obstacle is not visible at the time of hindleg stepping, because of its position between the fore and hindlegs, and working memory must be used to avoid it. We have previously shown that this memory is very precise and surprisingly long-lasting and that it depends on the stepping of the forelegs over the obstacle for its initiation. In this study, we test the hypothesis that area 5 in the posterior parietal cortex of cats is necessary for the maintenance of this long-lasting working memory. We report that small bilateral lesions to area 5 do not affect the amplitude of normal stepping of the hindlegs over obstacles, but they profoundly reduce the long-lasting working memory of obstacles. We propose that inputs to area 5 associated with foreleg stepping initiate long-lasting activity that maintains the memory of obstacle height in another brain region to guide the hindlegs over obstacles.

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Received Feb. 8, 2009; revised June 3, 2009; accepted June 5, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to David A. McVea, Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 4N1-2255 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Email: dmcvea{at}interchange.ubc.ca

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