Episodic-like event recollection in the rat: E-maze task, memory retention accuracy and the role of the fornix.

Abstract

Episodic memory was proposed to be a memory system unique to human (Tulving, 1972, 2002), until Clayton and Dickinson (1998) presented evidence form their study of the scrub jays that animals were capable of recalling episodic-like past events. To date the evidence of episodic-like memory was demonstrated in avian behaviour but not in the non- human mammals. Therefore, this thesis set out to establish a similar "what" "where" "which" episodic-like memory model in rats. Research findings showed that rats can learn a behavioural task encompassing information about specific objects, placed in a given location at a particular time in the recent past, which is evidence of episodic-like recall. Furthermore, rats were capable of retaining the newly attained episodes for at least 15 minutes and performed the episodic-like test with a decreased degree of accuracy subsequent to sustaining bilateral fornix section. Hence these tests of episodic-like memory in the rat provided evidence that the capability of the non-human memory has potential for further research, proving useful in the general understanding of the episodic memory system.