Abstract
Learning is facilitated when information can be incorporated into an already learned set of rules or 'mental schema'. The location of a new restaurant, for example, is learned more easily if the neighbourhood's general layout is already known. This type of information is processed by the hippocampus and stored as a schema in the cortex, but it is not known whether the hippocampus can also map new stimuli to cortical schemata that are hippocampus-independent, such as odour classification. Using a hippocampus-independent odour-rule task we found that animals without a functional hippocampus learnt which odours did not fit the rule faster than sham animals, which persistently applied the rule to all odours. Conversely, when non-fitting odours were linked to a new rule sham animals were faster to link these odours to the new rule. The hippocampus, thus, regulates the association of stimuli with existing schemata even when the schemata are hippocampus-independent. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.