Detour problem-solving behavior in rats with neocortical and hippocampal lesions: A study of response flexibility

Abstract

Young rats previously subjected to discrete neocortical ablations or hippocampal electrolytic lesions received five trials on each of three “climbing” detour problems. Performance on Trial 1 (a measure of response flexibility) of each problem was significantly impaired in those groups with frontal, parietal, or hippocampal lesions; the group with occipital lesions was impaired on only one problem. Performance on Trials 2–5 (a measure of detour habit formation) of each problem was significantly impaired only in the hippocampal group; the neocortical groups showed either no impairment or a mild impairment on these trials. These results suggest that the solution of detour problems on the first trial may require a cognitive process that is qualitatively different from that required on subsequent trials.