Holeboard performance of rats after hippocampal lesions and treatment with nimodipine

Rats were taught to select eight holes in a 4 × 4 holeboard for food reinforcements. Upon reaching criterion, they were given subtotal lesions of the anterior hippocampus or sham operations. They then received either the calcium channel blocker, nimodipine, or vehicle alone. Retention testing revealed a significant main effect of lesion and evidence for nimodipine reducing this effect. These data are consistent with previous findings from this laboratory in which it was demonstrated that nimodipine can enhance performance on higher cognitive tasks after hippocampal damage.