Hippocampal and caudate metabolic activity associated with different navigational strategies.

Abstract

Hippocampal and striatal systems are widely related to spatial tasks. Depending on the strategies used, different memory systems can be activated. In this study, the authors used the cytochrome c-oxidase technique as a functional marker of the hippocampal and dorsal striatum activity related to training in several water maze tasks. Current results show a differential participation of the hippocampal and striatal systems in navigation. When spatial information is relevant, participation of the hippocampal system is more important, and when the task is similar to a response learning one, the striatal system is more active. According to computational models, CA3 seems to be more active when the associative demand is higher, whereas CA1 and dentate gyrus activity are higher when spatial information processing is required.

Similarities and differences between the brain networks underlying allocentric and egocentric spatial learning in rat revealed by cytochrome oxidase histochemistry

“…However, in recent years, this classic model of the hippocampus as a key region only for allocentric information is being reformulated and improved in the light of new empirical results, suggesting a more general and complex role in spatial processing and the hypothesis of functional differences between the different regions of the hippocampus (Kesner et al, 2004;Poirier et al, 2008;Me´ndez-Lo´pez et al, 2009). It has been suggested that each subfield is involved differentially in different stages of memory formation, in the need to discriminate between different stimuli and responses, in the dissociation between memory and anxiety/behavioural inhibition, and in specific task demands (Miranda et al, 2006;Kubik et al, 2007;Gilbert and Brushfield, 2009;Me´ndez-Lo´pez et al, 2009;Conejo et al, 2010). Our findings are in line with this idea and point to a specific subregional contribution that could depend on different task demands such as the amount of training or strategy type.…”

“…During the past decades, strong empirical evidence has emerged showing this function using a variety of approaches including lesions, electrophysiological recordings, transgenic mice, CO activity and immediate-early gene expression (Morris et al, 1982;Eichenbaum et al, 1999;White and McDonald, 2002;Miranda et al, 2006). For instance, animals with induced hippocampal lesions exhibited impaired memory in the radial maze (Olton and Papas, 1979), the Morris water maze (Morris et al, 1982;Sutherland et al, 1983) and in a delayed non-matching-to-place task in a plusmaze (Costa et al, 2005) and in a place-avoidance task (Cimadevilla et al, 2000).…”

“…We used quantitative analysis of CO histochemistry as a reliable marker of neuronal metabolic capacity, because CO activity represents an index of the energy demands after prolonged stimulation of neurons (Wong-Riley, 1989;Gonzalez-Lima and Cada, 1994). Previous works have shown that CO activation has repeatedly been linked to different learning processes (Miranda et al, 2006;Me´ndez-Lo´pez et al, 2010;Gonza´lez-Pardo et al, 2012). The CO method can be applied to investigate the functional contribution of different brain regions by detecting the simultaneous activation of their metabolic capacity after training Conejo et al, 2010;Leger et al, 2012).…”

Depersonalisation/derealisation symptoms and updating orientation in patients with vestibular disease

“…The internal representation of space involves the integration of the different sensory inputs which yield reference frames32 33 and different brain regions, particularly the hippocampus34 35 and the posterior parietal lobe 36. Studies in humans37 38 and primates39 support the importance of a parieto-hippocampal network for spatial navigation.…”

Sex Hormones and Cognition: Neuroendocrine Influences on Memory and Learning

“…In both humans and rodents, males are more likely to use a hippocampus-dependent allocentric strategy to navigate compared to females, who are more likely to use an egocentric, dorsal striatum-dependent strategy. Dorsal striatum-dependent strategies include use of local landmark cues or response sets [e.g., "turn left at the intersection" (193,429,654)]. Female rodents perform equivalently to male rodents in cued versions of the water maze where the most efficient strategy is to use a response-based (egocentric) approach (527).…”