The differences shown by C57BL/6 and DBA/2 inbred mice in detecting spatial novelty are subserved by a different hippocampal and parietal cortex interplay

Abstract

Inbred C57BL/6 (C57) and DBA/2 (DBA) mice with hippocampus, posterior parietal cortex or sham lesions were placed in an open-field containing five objects and their reactivity to the displacement (spatial novelty) or the substitution (object novelty) of some of these objects was examined. C57 mice reacted to spatial novelty by exploring more the displaced than the non-displaced objects while DBA mice did not show any consistent reaction. In the highly reactive C57 strain, the peak of exploratory responses directed towards the displaced objects was completely abolished by hippocampal and posterior parietal cortex lesions. In the non-reactive DBA strain, hippocampal lesions induced an aspecific decreased interest towards the two categories of objects while posterior parietal cortex lesions did not produce any behavioral modification. The high reactivity of C57 mice to spatial change appears to be subserved by the conjunctive participation of the hippocampus and the posterior parietal cortex. Conversely, the deficit shown by DBA mice in that situation seems to be related to: (i) a poorly functional hippocampus; and (ii) the non-involvement of the posterior parietal cortex. The present data suggest that the participation of the posterior parietal cortex to the detection of spatial novelty may depend on the degree of functionality of the hippocampus.