Fimbrial lesions and sensory preconditioning.

The effects of fimbrial and cortical lesions on sensory preconditioning in the rabbit were examined. Damage to the cortex or the fimbria had no apparent effect on the acquisition of classically conditioned responses. However, fimbrial lesions virtually abolished the effects of preconditioning, whereas cortical lesions had no significant effect. Because fimbrial damage disrupts hippocampal output, these findings are interpreted to indicate that the hippocampus is vital to learning functions other than spatial cognition or working memory.