Visuospatial abilities.
The importance of the hippocampus and its anatomical connections, including the medial septum, thalamic nuclei, and neocortical regions in many spatial tasks including the Morris water maze, has been emphasized. Studies in mutant mice with cerebellar atrophy and in rats with electrolytic lesions of the cerebellum have indicated that the cerebellum has a role in visuospatial and visuomotor processes in the Morris maze. Directional deficits in the water have also been noted in rats whose cerebellum was exposed to X-rays during different developmental stages. Cerebellar interactions with the superior colliculus, the hippocampus, and the neocortex via thalamic nuclei are suggested to be the basis of the cerebellar modulation of directional sense in maze tests.
Lalonde
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Neurology Service, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital Research Center, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*