Dorsal hippocampal lesions impair blocking but not latent inhibition of taste aversion learning in rats

Behav Neurosci. 1995 Jun;109(3):413-25. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.109.3.413.

Abstract

The aim of the present experiments was to study the effect of nonselective electrolytic lesions of the rat dorsal hippocampus on 2 learning phenomena: the L.J. Kamin (1969) blocking effect and latent inhibition of taste aversion learning. Bilateral dorsal hippocampal lesions selectively impaired blocking induced by 1 saccharin-lithium chloride pairing previous to 1 serial compound (saccharin-cider vinegar)-lithium pairing, but lesions had no effect on latent inhibition of a saline aversion, induced by 6 saline preexposures, in the same group of animals. Moreover, dorsal hippocampal lesions did not affect latent inhibition of saccharin-conditioned aversion induced by 1 or 6 preexposures. It is argued that blocking and latent inhibition of taste aversion learning do not share a common neural mechanism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Association Learning
  • Avoidance Learning / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Conditioning, Classical / physiology*
  • Hippocampus / physiology*
  • Lithium Chloride / toxicity
  • Male
  • Mental Recall / physiology
  • Neural Inhibition / physiology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • Taste / physiology*

Substances

  • Lithium Chloride