Enhanced alternation learning in hippocampectomized rats by means of added light cues

It was shown that the superiority of the hippocampectomized rats over the controls in the relevant-cue condition occurred only when there was cue-response spatial separation.

Abstract

In a series of 4 experiments it was shown that rats with hippocampal lesions learned a two-lever alternation task as rapidly as controls. A relevant but redundant visual cue presented above the correct lever resulted in both rats with hippocampal lesions and controls learning the task more rapidly than their non-cued counterparts. However, the rats with hippocampal lesions learned the cued alternation significantly more rapidly than the controls. Hippocampectomized rats also learned more rapidly than control animals when the visual cue was irrelevant. It was shown that the superiority of the hippocampectomized rats over the controls in the relevant-cue condition occurred only when there was cue-response spatial separation. The findings are discussed in terms of an attentional-arousal theory of hippocampal function.