==== CNS96 (Computational Neuroscience) meeting ====

==== 	   (July 14-17) in Boston, MA, USA 	====





Effects of Medial Septal Lesions: Implications for Models of

Hippocampal Function



John J. Boitano, Guido Bugmann, Raju S. Bapi, Susan L. McCabe,

Carl P. J. Dokla, Michael J. Denham



Abstract



Data from two experiments on the effects of medial septal lesions on

spatial learning and reversal learning are presented. The medial

septal lesions impair reversal learning but not performance in the

standard Morris water maze test. These results indicate that the

medial septal inputs are mainly involved in relearning, or possibly in

the control of interference between novel and familiar memories. To

simulate the behavioral effects of medial septal lesions, a neural

network model not only needs to produce global behavior but must also

comprise details of the septohippocampal connectivity. Useful aspects

of current computational models are reviewed in this light.