ABSTRACT
Conditional learning tasks are another commonly used test of visual learning in the monkey. These tasks take the form of the presentation of an instruction cue (which might be a visual object, an auditory stimulus, or some other event) followed by a choice between two visual objects or motor behaviours. Only one of these objects or behaviours is appropriate on any given trial, and is dependent on the cue presented on that trial. Let us first consider visuovisual conditional learning, where the correct choice between two visual objects is determined by a visual instruction cue. Eacott and Gaffan (1992) found that uncinate fascicle section severely impaired the learning of a visuovisual conditional task. On the first trials presented postoperatively, animals that preoperatively performed at 90 per cent correct on a retention test now performed, on average, at just over 60 per cent correct. Some limited learning was observed over 4000 postoperative trials but no animal reattained preoperative performance levels. This result after uncinate fascicle section implies that the task must rely on this monosynaptic corticocortical pathway between frontal and inferior temporal cortex.
