title: Loss of the thalamic nuclei for "head direction" impairs performance on spatial memory tasks in rats.
abstract: This study sought to characterize the effects of removing the nuclei of primary importance in relaying the thalamic head direction signal to the hippocampal formation (the anterior dorsal [AD] and lateral dorsal [LD] nuclei) on the performance of a variety of spatial and nonspatial tasks. The results indicate that combined excitotoxic lesions of the AD and LD nuclei produce marked deficits on a variety of spatial tasks. These tasks included T-maze alternation and the ability to locate a hidden platform set at a fixed distance and fixed direction from a beacon in a Morris water maze. Although object recognition appeared unaffected, marked impairments were found in the ability to detect when an object was placed in a novel position (object-in-place memory).
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Wilton
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Muir
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Honey
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Aggleton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020643:Anterior Thalamic Nuclei / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D019416:Head Movements; D020647:Lateral Thalamic Nuclei / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology*