CorrespondenceTesting the importance of the retrosplenial navigation system: lesion size but not strain matters: a reply to Harker and Whishaw
Section snippets
Theme 1: reaffirming the retrosplenial contribution to rodent navigation
While many lesion studies have found that the retrosplenial cortex is necessary for navigation, a number of studies have reported a failure to find deficits on certain tests of spatial memory [2], [3], [4], [5]. Three of these ‘failures’ arise from the work of Aggleton and his colleagues, and were published between 1994 and 1998 [2], [3], [4]. At first sight, the lack of a lesion deficit in these early studies is surprising given the anatomy of the retrosplenial cortex, e.g. its connections
Theme 2: that insufficient care has been taken with the choice and interpretation of spatial tasks
In their review Harker and Whishaw [1] highlight the need to be cautious when generalising across, and interpreting findings from, different spatial tasks because different tasks may tax different aspects of spatial learning. Furthermore, a given task will place demands on aspects of behaviour for which it was not primarily designed. There is, of course, a considerable literature going back many decades that concerns both of these points. For example, many studies have examined how rats solve
Theme 3: do strain differences explain the apparent failure to find retrosplenial lesion effects in some studies?
Perhaps the most important claims to consider are the proposals that the failure to find spatial deficits after retrosplenial lesions reflect the use of a specific strain of rat (Dark Agouti) and that inherent behavioural abnormalities in this strain may mask spatial deficits. In fact, these claims are extended to all aspects of research where it is stated (p. 24) “that ‘control’ Dark Agouti rats show abnormal baseline performances on both spatial and nonspatial tasks questions the utility of
Theme 4: does lesion size and lesion method matter?
While Harker and Whishaw [1] conclude that strain differences are the key factor in resolving any apparent lesion discrepancies, they do consider an alternative view proposed by Aggleton et al. [8], that lesion size and surgical method might be important. Although they dismiss this view, we will reconsider the evidence. Before doing so it is important to appreciate that for the large majority of lesion studies there simply are no discrepancies (see Theme 1), even though the review by Harker and
Concluding remarks
Harker and Whishaw [1] state that studies into the spatial functions of the rodent retrosplenial cortex continue to provide contrasting results. In fact this is not the case and there is a high degree of consistency across studies and across rat strain. We feel, like Harker and Whishaw [1], that it is time that the contribution of this region be properly recognised and incorporated into our understanding of hippocampal–diencephalic interactions underlying spatial navigation [36].
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2019, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsThe rat retrosplenial cortex as a link for frontal functions: A lesion analysis
2017, Behavioural Brain ResearchCitation Excerpt :As explained, two different cohorts of rats with retrosplenial cortex lesions, along with their sham controls, were tested in these particular experiments. In both cohorts, the retrosplenial surgeries involved tissue along almost the entire length of the region, a potentially important factor as lesions of more limited length can have null effects (Neave et al. [43]; Aggleton & Vann [49]). In addition, Cohort 1 was separately found to be impaired on tests of crossmodal recognition and spatial memory [26,50], while Cohort 2 was impaired on tests of object recency memory [22].