• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.41-50
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• 1999

It is widely known that the hippocampus plays an important role in spatial memory. Recent studies have suggested that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is involved in spatial memory. However it is unclear whether the PPC is involved in w working memory or reference memory of spatial learning. The purpose of the present study was to determine contribution of the hippocampus and the PPC to spatial working memory and acquisition of reference memory. Using an eight-arm radial maze in which e each arm was baited. working memory was tested by measuring rat's ability to remember arms they had visited. Reference memory was tested by measuring rat's ability to avoid visiting four consistently unbaited arms. Effects of hippocampal or PPC lesion on working memory or acquisition of reference memory in radial-arm maze learning were investigated Working memory was impaired by hippocampal lesion whereas not affected by PPC lesion. Acquisition of reference memory was impaired by lesion in either site. The results suggest that the hippocampus plays an important role in the spatial working memory while both the hippocampus and the PPC contribute to the acquisition of spatial reference memory.