Memory impairment on a delayed non-matching-to-position task after lesions of the perirhinal cortex in the rat.
Previous research conducted in monkeys and rats has established that the perirhinal cortex is critically involved in object- or stimulus-recognition memory, whereas other research suggests this region may contribute to memory for object discriminations. These findings do not rule out the possibility that the perirhinal cortex plays a more general role in memory. The present experiment addressed whether selective lesions of the perirhinal cortex would result in a delay-dependent deficit on a test of memory that did not involve stimulus recognition or object memory. Rats with bilateral perirhinal lesions were tested on a delayed non-matching-to-position task. Lesions of the perirhinal cortex did not interfere with acquisition or performance at short (0-4 s)-delay intervals, but lesions did impair performance at longer delays. It is suggested that the perirhinal cortex is involved in maintaining representations of trial-specific information over time.
Wiig
K A
KA
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
Burwell
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RD
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D011336:Probability; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors