The effects of lesions of anteromedial cortex on a ballistic visuomotor task in the Mongolian gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus)

Abstract

Mongolian gerbils were trained to jump across a gap of randomly varying distance and then received one of three surgical treatments: Ten gerbils received aspiration lesions of anteromedial cortex (AMC), four gerbils received control lesions of a part of frontal cortex and nine gerbils received a sham procedure. Following a short recovery period, gerbils were tested in the jumping task. Gerbils with AMC lesions carried out fewer head movements than both sham and frontal gerbils. In addition, gerbils with AMC lesions were significantly less accurate in the distance estimation component of the jumping task, particularly at longer distances. These results suggest that anteromedial cortex participates in the generation of vertical head movements that are used to produce retinal motion information and confirms that these head movements are used to heighten the precision of distance estimation at longer testing distances.