Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious psychiatric condition manifested by repeated thoughts followed by stereotypic compulsive behavior. Alterations to cortico-thalamo-striato- cortical circuits are most often implicated in the pathophysiology of OCD. However, many studies have also found a changed volume, shape and activity of the hippocampus in OCD patients. This work focused on the activity of hippocampal CA1 cells during stereotypical checking behavior and on cognitive flexibility in a quinpirole (QNP) sensitization model of OCD. The activity of CA1 hippocampal cells during stereotypical checking was assessed in an enriched open-field test in QNP sensitized rats. Arc+ (activity-regulated cytoskeletal associated protein, or Arg 3.1) mRNA expression profiles were determined in CA1 coronal hippocampal sections following stereotypical checking. After the establishment of stereotypical checking (10 sessions), rats were exposed to the arena and sacrificed after 5 minutes. QNP sensitized animals visited the same objects with the same frequency as during previous sessions, while control rats did not. Locomotor activity was comparable between QNP treated rats and controls. Following sacrifice, rat brains were flash frozen and sliced to 20 µm thick sections. Sections, mounted on slides, were hybridized...