Several studies suggest that the hippocampus (HPC) is necessary for configural associations but not for simple non-spatial associations. We asked whether HPC involvement in simple non-spatial associations depends on the nature of the stimuli and responses that are paired. First, we trained rats with complete ibotenate lesions of HPC to perform a simple non-spatial odour-food association. The rats were trained to dig for a food reward in a scented cup of sand while ignoring an unscented cup. Both lesioned and control animals showed fast acquisition, as predicted (e.g., Dudchenko et al., 2000). Next, we asked whether HPC lesions impaired the rats’ ability to acquire two less common stimulus conjunctions. Rats were first trained to associate a specific odour with the appearance of an escape platform at a randomly determined location in a modified annular watermaze (Hollup et al., SfN 1999). When the rat arrived at the platform location, a specific odour was presented and the platform was then raised in the sc...