Impaired cognitive processes associated with memory loss after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques Open Access

Abstract

The perirhinal cortex (PRh) is an area in the medial temporal lobe that receives inputs from the ventral visual stream, and projects to the entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, and the lateral prefrontal cortices. There is already preliminary evidence to suggest that the PRh is important to support the normal development of recognition memory (Weiss & Bachevalier, 2016; Zeamer et al., 2015). However there remain significant questions regarding the degree to which perceptual difficulties, retarded familiarity processes, impaired working memory, and difficulty resolving proactive interference may have contributed to the impaired performance of the Neo-PRh monkeys on the recognition tasks reported earlier. This dissertation presents three manuscripts that describe an attempt to clarify these issues. Study 1 provides evidence that neonatal PRh lesions had a significant impact on the development of familiarity mechanisms, but spared visual perception. Study 2 provides evidence that the same Neo-PRh lesions did not alter working memory processes per se, but rather increased the tendency to make perseverative errors. Study 3 provides evidence that impaired cognitive flexibility was a likely source of the increased perseverative errors made by Neo-PRh monkeys when performing WM tasks with proactive interference. Taken together, data from these studies advance our understanding of the fundamental cognitive processes that were impacted by the Neo-PRh lesions by highlighting the critical role this area plays in the development of recognition memory and executive function.

Table of Contents

General Introduction........................................................................................................... 1

Anatomical Organization of the PRh.................................................................................... 2

Cognitive Functions of the Perirhinal Cortex......................................................................... 3

Summary.......................................................................................................................... 15

Study 1: Intact perceptual ability but impaired familiarity judgment after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques 18

Abstract........................................................................................................................... 19

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 20

General Methods.............................................................................................................. 24

Experiment 1: Impact of stimulus similarity on incidental object recognition.......................... 28

Methods..................................................................................................................... 28

Results........................................................................................................................ 31

Summary..................................................................................................................... 33

Experiment 2: Familiarity Discrimination.............................................................................. 34

Methods..................................................................................................................... 34

Results........................................................................................................................ 37

Summary..................................................................................................................... 39

Discussion........................................................................................................................ 40

Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 44

Study 2: Neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques alter performance on working memory tasks with high proactive interference 55

Abstract........................................................................................................................... 56

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 58

Material and Methods....................................................................................................... 60

Results............................................................................................................................. 71

Discussion........................................................................................................................ 76

Conclusions..................................................................................................................... 82

Study 3: Impaired cognitive flexibility after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques 90

Abstract........................................................................................................................... 91

Introduction.................................................................................................................... 92

Methods.......................................................................................................................... 93

Results........................................................................................................................... 101

Discussion...................................................................................................................... 103

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 107

General Discussion.......................................................................................................... 116

The role of the PRh in recognition memory........................................................................ 117

The role of the PRh in WM and proactive interference........................................................ 119

Comparisons with the effects of neonatal hippocampal lesions........................................... 121

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 125

References....................................................................................................................... 128

About this Dissertation

Rights statement

• Permission granted by the author to include this thesis or dissertation in this repository. All rights reserved by the author. Please contact the author for information regarding the reproduction and use of this thesis or dissertation.

School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Biology, Neuroscience Psychology, Cognitive
Keyword	familiarity working memory intradimensional/extradimensional nonhuman primate
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Bachevalier, Jocelyne, Emory University
Committee Members	Hamann, Stephan, Emory University Bauer, Patricia, Emory University Walker, Elaine, Emory University Rodman, Hillary R, Emory University

Last modified

Primary PDF

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions
	Impaired cognitive processes associated with memory loss after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques ()	2018-08-28 13:11:48 -0400	Press to Select an action Download

Supplemental Files

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Actions