Editing Spatial memory (section)

===Hippocampal damage and schizophrenia===
Research with rats indicates that spatial memory may be adversely affected by [[Infant|neonatal]] damage to the hippocampus in a way that closely resembles [[schizophrenia]]. Schizophrenia is thought to stem from [[Neural development|neurodevelopmental]] problems shortly after birth.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lewis | first1 = D.A. | last2 = Levitt | first2 = P. | year = 2002 | title = Schizophrenia as a disorder of neurodevelopment | journal = Annual Review of Neuroscience | volume = 25 | pages = 409–432 | doi = 10.1146/annurev.neuro.25.112701.142754 | pmid = 12052915 }}</ref>

Rats are commonly used as models of schizophrenia patients. Experimenters create lesions in the ventral hippocampal area shortly after birth, a procedure known as neonatal ventral hippocampal lesioning (NVHL). Adult rats with NVHL show typical indicators of schizophrenia, such as hypersensitivity to [[Stimulant|psychostimulants]], reduced social interactions and impaired [[prepulse inhibition]], working memory and set-shifting.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lipska | first1 = B.K. | last2 = Weinberger | first2 = D.R. | year = 2000 | title = To model a psychiatric disorder in animals: Schizophrenia as a reality test | journal = Neuropsychopharmacology | volume = 23 | issue = 3| pages = 223–239 | doi = 10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00137-8 | pmid = 10942847 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lipska | first1 = B.K. | last2 = Aultman | first2 = J.M. | last3 = Verma | first3 = A. | last4 = Weinberger | first4 = D.R. | last5 = Moghaddam | first5 = B. | year = 2002 | title = Neonatal damage of the ventral hippocampus impairs working memory in the rat | journal = Neuropsychopharmacology | volume = 27 | issue = 1| pages = 47–54 | doi = 10.1016/S0893-133X(02)00282-8 | pmid = 12062906 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marquis | first1 = J. P. | last2 = Goulet | first2 = S. | last3 = Dore | first3 = F. Y. | year = 2008 | title = Dissociable onset of cognitive and motivational dysfunctions following neonatal lesions of the ventral hippocampus in rats | journal = Behavioral Neuroscience | volume = 122 | issue = 3| pages = 629–642 | doi = 10.1037/0735-7044.122.3.629 | pmid = 18513133 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brady | first1 = A. M. | year = 2009 | title = Neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions disrupt set-shifting ability in adult rats | journal = Behavioural Brain Research | volume = 205 | issue = 1| pages = 294–298 | doi = 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.07.025 | pmid = 19646488 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marquis | first1 = J.P. | last2 = Goulet | first2 = S. | last3 = Dore | first3 = F.Y. | year = 2008 | title = Neonatal ventral hippocampus lesions disrupt extra-dimensional shift and alter dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex of juvenile rats | journal = Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | volume = 90 | issue = 2| pages = 339–346 | doi = 10.1016/j.nlm.2008.04.005 | pmid = 18490183 }}</ref> Similar to schizophrenia, impaired rats fail to use environmental context in spatial learning tasks such as showing difficulty completing the radial arm maze and the Moris water maze.<ref>Winocur, G. & Mills, J. A. (1970). Transfer between related and unrelated problems following hippocampal lesions in rats. ''Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology''</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Levin | first1 = E.D. | last2 = Christopher | first2 = N.C. | year = 2006 | title = Effects of clozapine on memory function in the rat neonatal hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia | journal = Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry | volume = 30 | issue = 2| pages = 223–229 | doi = 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2005.10.018 | pmid = 16356617 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Silva-Gomez | first1 = A.B. | last2 = Bermudez | first2 = M. | last3 = Quirion | first3 = R. | last4 = Srivastava | first4 = L.K. | last5 = Picazo | first5 = O. | last6 = Flores | first6 = G. | year = 2003 | title = Comparative behavioral changes between male and female postpubertal rats following neonatal excitotoxic lesions of the ventral hippocampus | journal = Brain Research | volume = 973 | issue = 2| pages = 285–292 | doi = 10.1016/S0006-8993(03)02537-X | pmid = 12738072 }}</ref>