The activity of thalamic nucleus reuniens is critical for memory retrieval, but not essential for the early phase of off-line consolidation

Spatial navigation depends on the hippocampal function, but also requires bidirectional interactions between the hippocampus (HPC) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The cross-regional communication is typically regulated by critical nodes of a distributed brain network. The thalamic nucleus reuniens (RE) is reciprocally connected to both HPC and PFC and may coordinate the information flow within the HPC-PFC pathway. Here we examined if RE activity contributes to the spatial memory consolidation. Rats were trained to find reward following a complex trajectory on a crossword-like maze. Immediately after each of the five daily learning sessions the RE was reversibly inactivated by local injection of muscimol. The post-training RE inactivation affected neither the spatial task acquisition nor the memory retention, which was tested after a 20-d forgetting period. In contrast, the RE inactivation in well-trained rats prior to the maze exposure impaired the task performance without affecting locomotion or appetitive motivation. Our results support the role of the RE in memory retrieval and/or online processing of spatial information, but do not provide evidence for its engagement in off-line processing, at least within a time window immediately following learning experience.