Spatial learning by rats across visually disconnected environments
Détails
ID Serval
serval:BIB_40332
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Spatial learning by rats across visually disconnected environments
Périodique
Animal Learning and Behavior
ISSN
0048-8046
ISSN-L
1543-4494
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2000
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
28
Pages
16-27
Langue
anglais
Résumé
Experiments were designed to examine some properties of spatial representations in rats. Adult subjects were trained to escape through a hole at a fixed position in a large circular arena (see Schenk 1989). The experiments were conducted in the dark, with a limited number of controlled visual light cues in order to assess the minimal cue requirement for place learning. Three identical light cues (shape, height and distance from the table) were used. Depending on the condition, they were either permanently on, or alternatively on or off, depending on the position of the rat in the field. Two questions were asked: a) how many identical visual cues were necessary for spatial discrimination in the dark, and b) could rats integrate the relative positions of separate cues, under conditions in which the rat was never allowed to perceive all three cues simultaneously. The results suggest that rats are able to achieve a place discrimination task even if the three cues necessary for efficient orientation can never be seen simultaneously. A dissociation between the discrimination of the spatial position of the goal and the capacity to reach it by a direct path suggests that a reduced number of cues might require prolonged locomotion to allow an accurate orientation in the environment.
Mots-clé
Place behavior, spatial representation, cognitive map, spatial learning, open field, spatial memory, rat
OAI-PMH
Web of science
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
19/11/2007 10:17
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 13:37