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. 1995 Oct 10;92(21):9697–9701. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.21.9697

Spatial learning with a minislab in the dorsal hippocampus.

M B Moser 1, E I Moser 1, E Forrest 1, P Andersen 1, R G Morris 1
PMCID: PMC40869  PMID: 7568200

Abstract

We have determined the volume and location of hippocampal tissue required for normal acquisition of a spatial memory task. Ibotenic acid was used to make bilateral symmetric lesions of 20-100% of hippocampal volume. Even a small transverse block (minislab) of the hippocampus (down to 26% of the total) could support spatial learning in a water maze, provided it was at the septal (dorsal) pole of the hippocampus. Lesions of the septal pole, leaving 60% of the hippocampi intact, caused a learning deficit, although normal electrophysiological responses, synaptic plasticity, and preserved acetylcholinesterase staining argue for adequate function of the remaining tissue. Thus, with an otherwise normal brain, hippocampal-dependent spatial learning only requires a minislab of dorsal hippocampal tissue.

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