HIPPOCAMPAL-LESIONS IMPAIR MEMORY FOR LOCATION BUT NOT COLOR IN PASSERINE BIRDS

The effects of hippocampal complex lesions on memory for location and color were assessed in black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus) an d dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) in operant tests of matching to sa mple, Before surgery, most birds were more accurate on tests of memory for location than on tests of memory for color. Damage to the hippoca mpal complex caused a decline in memory for location, whereas memory f or color was not affected in the same birds. This dissociation indicat es that the avian hippocampus plays an important role in spatial cogni tion and suggests that this brain structure may play no role in workin g memory generally.