Goal-directed actions transiently depend on dorsal hippocampus.

The role of the hippocampus in goal-directed action is currently unclear; studies investigating this issue have produced contradictory results. Here we reconcile these contradictions by demonstrating that, in rats, goal-directed action relies on the dorsal hippocampus, but only transiently, immediately after initial acquisition. Furthermore, we found that goal-directed action also depends transiently on physical context, suggesting a psychological basis for the hippocampal regulation of goal-directed action control.