Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 8, 1863-1872, Copyright © 1988 by Society for Neuroscience
Contributions of cingulate cortex to two forms of spatial learning and memory
RJ Sutherland, IQ Whishaw and B Kolb
Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
The contribution of anterior and posterior cingulate cortical areas to
spatial learning and memory was examined in 4 experiments using the
place-navigation task. Rats with complete bilateral cingulate cortex
aspiration or aspiration of posterior cingulate cortex (area 29) alone
could not swim directly to a hidden platform located in a fixed place. When
animals with these lesions were tested for 40 d in a place- alternation
task in which they received 16 daily trials with the platform placed in a
new location each day, they did not show reliable improvement in place
navigation. The inability to swim to changing locations or to a single
location was not overcome by preoperative training in these tasks. Rats
with anterior cingulate cortex aspirations showed a less severe impairment
in both tasks and, with more training than is necessary for control rats,
they acquired near- normal place-navigation accuracy. Rats with complete
cingulate cortex aspiration were almost as accurate as control rats in
learning to swim to a visible platform. The results imply that posterior
cingulate areas play an essential role in the use of topographical
information, probably by transmitting and elaborating information passing
between the hippocampal system and neocortical association areas.