The role of the hippocampus in object discrimination based on visual features

0496243 - FGÚ 2019 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Levčík, David - Nekovářová, Tereza - Antošová, Eliška - Stuchlík, Aleš - Klement, Daniel
The role of the hippocampus in object discrimination based on visual features.
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. Roč. 155, Nov (2018), s. 127-135. ISSN 1074-7427. E-ISSN 1095-9564
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-04047S; GA MŠMT(CZ) LM2015062
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) PAN-17-07
Program: Bilaterální spolupráce
Institutional support: RVO:67985823
Keywords : hippocampus * object discrimination * visual discrimination * operant conditioning * muscimol
OECD category: Neurosciences (including psychophysiology
Impact factor: 3.010, year: 2018

The role of rodent hippocampus has been intensively studied in different cognitive tasks. However, its role in discrimination of objects remains controversial due to conflicting findings. We tested whether the number and type of features available for the identification of objects might affect the strategy (hippocampal-independent vs. hippocampal-dependent) that rats adopt to solve object discrimination tasks. We trained rats to discriminate 2D visual objects presented on a computer screen. The objects were defined either by their shape only or by multiple-features (a combination of filling pattern and brightness in addition to the shape). Our data showed that objects displayed as simple geometric shapes are not discriminated by trained rats after their hippocampi had been bilaterally inactivated by the GABAA-agonist muscimol. On the other hand, objects containing a specific combination of non-geometric features in addition to the shape are discriminated even without the hippocampus. Our results suggest that the involvement of the hippocampus in visual object discrimination depends on the abundance of object’s features.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0289062