Brief Communication Insular cortex is involved in consolidation of object recognition memory

Previous findings indicate that the insular cortex (IC) is involved in conditioned taste aversion and taste recognition. Here we re-port evidence that the IC is not uniquely dedicated to taste learn-ing but plays a more general role in consolidating recognition memories. Immediate post-training infusions of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist scopolamine administered into the IC produced locus-specific and time-dependent impairment of object recognition memory. Extensive evidence indicates that the IC, also termed gusta-tory cortex, is critically involved in conditioned taste aversion and taste recognition memory (Bermudez-Rattoni 2004). Al-though most studies of the involvement of the IC in memory have investigated taste, there is some evidence that the IC is involved in memory that is not based on taste (Bermudez-Rattoni and McGaugh 1991; Bermudez-Rattoni et al. 1991; Paller et al