during which the subject cannot see any objects.

In the subsequent
recognition test, two objects are presented, one of which is the same as the
sample and the other of which is novel. Correct performance requires the
subject to recognize and avoid the sample object and instead choose the
novel one to receive a food reward. (B) Visual paired comparison task.
During the sample phase the monkey looks at two identical pictures. In the
test phase, one of the sample pictures is represented along with a novel
picture. Memory for the repeated picture is inferred by measuring the
subject’s tendency to look away from the repeated picture and towards the
new picture.

Studies in rodents with damage to the hippocampal memory system

have also increased our understanding of the functions of the hippocampal
memory system. Rats with damage to the hippocampus are typically
impaired on maze-based tasks when the task depends on memory for space
that is capable of being flexibly expressed. One example is place learning in
the Morris water maze task (Morris, Garrud, Rawlins, & O’Keefe, 1982;
Fig. 48.5). In this task, rats are trained to find a hidden escape platform
submerged just below the surface in a pool of cloudy water. The rats are
unable to see the platform and must learn the location of the escape site on
the basis of cues that are visible on the walls of the room around the pool.
Rats with hippocampal damage can learn to locate the escape platform
when they start from the same location on every trial. However, their
performance is poor when they are asked to demonstrate flexible memory
for those spatial relationships by swimming to the remembered location of
the submerged platform from a different start point. Consistent with the
studies with patient E.P., this pattern of performance reflects a more rigid
memory in the absence of a hippocampus.