title: Perirhinal cortex lesions impair tests of object recognition memory but spare novelty detection.
abstract: The present study examined why perirhinal cortex lesions in rats impair the spontaneous ability to select novel objects in preference to familiar objects, when both classes of object are presented simultaneously. The study began by repeating this standard finding, using a test of delayed object recognition memory. As expected, the perirhinal cortex lesions reduced the difference in exploration times for novel vs. familiar stimuli. In contrast, the same rats with perirhinal cortex lesions appeared to perform normally when the preferential exploration of novel vs. familiar objects was tested sequentially, i.e. when each trial consisted of only novel or only familiar objects. In addition, there was no indication that the perirhinal cortex lesions reduced total levels of object exploration for novel objects, as would be predicted if the lesions caused novel stimuli to appear familiar. Together, the results show that, in the absence of perirhinal cortex tissue, rats still receive signals of object novelty, although they may fail to link that information to the appropriate object. Consequently, these rats are impaired in discriminating the source of object novelty signals, leading to deficits on simultaneous choice tests of recognition.
authors.affiliation: Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, UK.
authors.forename: Cristian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Olarte-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.
authors.forename: Eman
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, MRC Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, Bristol University, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: E Clea
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Warburton
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Aggleton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D051381:Rats; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013995:Time
keywords: familiarity; habituation; hippocampus; parahippocampal cortex; recognition memory