RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Impaired Sequential Egocentric and Allocentric Memories in Forebrain-Specific–NMDA Receptor Knock-Out Mice during a New Task Dissociating Strategies of Navigation
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4071
OP 4081
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3408-05.2006
VO 26
IS 15
A1 Laure Rondi-Reig
A1 Géraldine H. Petit
A1 Christine Tobin
A1 Susumu Tonegawa
A1 Jean Mariani
A1 Alain Berthoz
YR 2006
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/15/4071.abstract
AB The hippocampus is considered to play a role in allocentric but not in egocentric spatial learning. How does this view fit with the emerging evidence that the hippocampus and possibly related cortical areas are necessary for episodic-like memory, i.e., in all situations in which events need to be spatially or sequentially organized? Are NMDA receptor-dependent mechanisms crucial for the acquisition of spatiotemporal relationships? To address this issue, we used knock-out (KO) mice lacking hippocampal CA1 NMDA receptors and presenting a reduction of these receptors in the deep cortical layers (NR1-KO mice). A new task (the starmaze) was designed, allowing us to distinguish allocentric and sequential-egocentric memories. NR1-KO mice were impaired in acquiring both types of memory. Our findings suggest that memories composed of multiple spatiotemporal events require intact NMDA receptors-dependent mechanisms in CA1 and possibly in the deep cortical layers.