Source Paper
Impaired Recognition Memory in Rats after Damage to the Hippocampus
Robert E. Clark, Stuart M. Zola, Larry R. Squire
Journal of Neuroscience • 2000
Spontaneous Alternation Task
Objective: Assess spatial cognition and memory in rats with fornix lesions using a spontaneous alternation task
This is a Spontaneous Alternation Task protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 4 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 1 materials. Extracted from a 2000 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
~48 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Lesion creation • Visual paired comparison task testing • Memory assessment at multiple delays
Primary readouts
- Recognition memory performance on visual paired comparison task
- Memory retention at different delay intervals (10 sec, 1 min, and longer delays up to 24 hr)
- Spatial cognition performance on spontaneous alternation task
- Comparison of performance between hippocampal lesion groups and fornix lesion groups
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Lesion creation
Create radio-frequency or ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus, or radio-frequency lesions of the fornix in experimental animals
Note: Multiple lesion types were used across different groups
View evidence from paper
“Rats with radio-frequency or ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus and rats with radio-frequency lesions of the fornix”
Visual paired comparison task testing
Test rats on the visual paired comparison task, a test of recognition memory
Note: Memory was assessed at five different delay intervals
View evidence from paper
“Rats with radio-frequency or ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus and rats with radio-frequency lesions of the fornix were tested on the visual paired comparison task (VPC), a test of recognition memory”
Memory assessment at multiple delays
Assess memory performance at five different delay intervals ranging from 10 seconds to 24 hours
Note: All operated groups performed normally at shorter delays (10 sec and 1 min)
View evidence from paper
“Memory was assessed at five different delay intervals ranging from 10 sec to 24 hr. All operated groups performed normally at the shorter delays (10 sec and 1 min)”
Spontaneous alternation task testing
Test rats with fornix lesions on the spontaneous alternation spatial task
Note: Rats with fornix lesions were impaired on this spatial task
View evidence from paper
“Rats with fornix lesions performed well on the VPC task but were impaired on a spatial task (spontaneous alternation)”