Dissociation of spatial and object memory in the hippocampal formation of Japanese quail

Chelsey C Damphousse,Noam Miller,Diano F Marrone

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.103805

Abstract

SummaryThe mammalian temporal cortex can be functionally segregated into regions that encode spatial information and others that are predominantly responsible for object recognition. In the present study, we report comparable functional segregation in the avian brain. Using Japanese quail, we find that bilateral lesions of the hippocampus (Hp) produce robust deficits in performance in a foraging array (FA) spatial memory task, while sparing spontaneous object recognition (SOR). In contrast, lesions to the adjacent area parahippocampalis (APH) compromise both SOR and FA. These observations demonstrate a functional dissociation between Hp and APH that is comparable to the distinctions seen in mammals between the hippocampus and surrounding temporal cortex.

Highlights

The hippocampus (Hp) and surrounding medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures have long been identified as critical neural circuits supporting memory, especially memory for spatial information (O’Keefe and Nadel, 1970)
SUMMARY The mammalian temporal cortex can be functionally segregated into regions that encode spatial information and others that are predominantly responsible for object recognition
Using Japanese quail, we find that bilateral lesions of the hippocampus (Hp) produce robust deficits in performance in a foraging array (FA) spatial memory task, while sparing spontaneous object recognition (SOR)

Summary

Introduction

The hippocampus (Hp) and surrounding medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures have long been identified as critical neural circuits supporting memory, especially memory for spatial information (O’Keefe and Nadel, 1970). The inclusion of more subdivisions is more accurate, here we opt for consistency with the previous lesion studies that inform this research and refer to these areas as the Hp and APH These previous studies have often ignored the boundaries between these two regions and have destroyed both Hp and APH (e.g., Good, 1987; Colombo et al, 2001; Kahn and Bingman, 2004; Broadbent and Colombo, 2000; Johnston et al, 2021). The issue of whether functional specialization might occur in different regions of the avian hippocampal formation remains largely unexplored, despite anatomical data suggesting that APH may be homologous to the EC (Redies et al, 2001; Abellan et al, 2014; Zhou et al, 2020; Bingman et al, 1994; Kroner and Gunturkun, 1999)

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