Abstract
In an enclosed four-arm radial maze, after sampling three experimenter-selected baited arms (thestudy segment) and following rotation of the maze, rats had to find the fourth baited arm among all four unblocked arms (test segment). The rats learned this task with two sets of arm cues, objects at arms’ entrances and full arm inserts, each maintained in a fixed configuration. When we changed the configuration of one set of arms to itsmirror image and that of the other set to a moremixed variation by switching opposite and adjacent cued arms, the rats’ accuracy was similarly disrupted (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, the same rats rapidly recovered their high search accuracy on four new configurations recombined from pairs of adjacent arms and pairs of opposite cued arms from the previous final two configurations. Their test segment search accuracy, however, was again disrupted when these configurations were varied either only over trials’ study segments or only over trials’ test segments. In Experiment 3, however, these rats attained accuracy as high on two sets of cued arms with constantly changing configurations as on two sets with constant configurations. Thus, the rats were able to separately represent four different spatially stable configurations, and then they could learn to represent two of these configurations as lists of spatially irrelevant items. We discuss these findings in terms of association theory and parallel map theory (Jacobs & Schenk, 2003).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Benhamou, S. (1998). Place navigation in mammals: A configurationbased model.Animal Cognition,1, 55–63.
Biegler, R., &Morris, R. G. M. (1996). Landmark stability: Further studies pointing to a role in spatial learning.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,49B, 307–345.
Brown, M. F. (1992). Does a cognitive map guide choices in the radialarm maze?Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,18, 56–66.
Brown, M. F. (1993). Sequential and simultaneous choice processes in the radial-arm maze. In T. Zentall (Ed.),Animal cognition: A tribute to Donald A. Riley (pp. 153–173). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Brown, M. F., Rish, P. A., VonCulin, J. E., &Edberg, J. A. (1993). Spatial guidance of choice behavior in the radial-arm maze.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,19, 195–214.
Cheng, K. (1986). A purely geometric module in the rat’s spatial representation.Cognition,23, 149–177.
Cohen, J., &Bussey, K. (2002, March).Integration of cognitive maps by rats in the enclosed 4-arm radial maze. Paper presented at the Conference on Comparative Cognition, Melbourne Beach, FL.
Cohen, J., &Bussey, K. (2003). Rats form cognitive maps from spatial configurations of proximal arm cues in an enclosed 4-arm radial maze.Learning & Motivation,34, 168–184.
Dudchenko, P. A., &Davidson, M. (2002). Rats use a sense of direction to alternate on T-mazes located in adjacent rooms.Animal Cognition,5, 115–118.
Jacobs, L. F., &Schenk, F. (2003). Unpacking the cognitive map: The parallel map theory of hippocampal function.Psychological Review,110, 285–315.
Jitsumori, M., Wright, A. A., &Cook, R. G. (1988). Long-term proactive interference and novelty enhancement effects in monkey list memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,14, 146–154.
Mazmanian, D. S., &Roberts, W. A. (1983). Spatial memory in rats under restricted viewing conditions.Learning & Motivation,14, 123–139.
O’Keefe, J., &Nadel, L. (1978).The hippocampus as a cognitive map. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olton, D. S. (1978). Characteristics of spatial memory. In S. H. Hulse, H. Fowler, & W. K. Honig (Eds.),Cognitive processes in animal behavior (pp. 341–373). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Olton, D. S., Becker, J. T., &Handelmann, G. E. (1979). Hippocampus, space, and memory.Behavioral & Brain Sciences,2, 313–365.
Olton, D. S., &Samuelson, R. J. (1976). Remembrances of places passed: Spatial memory in rats.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,2, 97–116.
Pearce, J. M., &Bouton, M. E. (2001). Theories of associative learning in animals.Annual Review of Psychology,52, 111–139.
Poucet, B. (1993). Spatial cognitive maps in animals: New hypotheses on their structure and neural mechanisms.Psychological Review,100, 163–182.
Poucet, B., Chapuis, N., Durup, M., &Thinus-Blanc, C. (1986). A study of exploratory behavior as an index of spatial knowledge in hamsters.Animal Learning & Behavior,14, 93–100.
Roberts, W. A. (2001). Spatial representation and the use of spatial codes in animals. In M. Gattis (Ed.),Spatial schemas and abstract thought (pp. 15–44). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rodrigo, T., Chamizo, V. D., McLaren, I. P. L., &Mackintosh, N. J. (1997). Blocking in the spatial domain.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes,23, 110–118.
Suzuki, S., Augerinos, G., &Black, A. H. (1980). Stimulus control of spatial behavior on the eight-arm maze in rats.Learning & Motivation,11, 1–18.
Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men.Psychological Review,55, 189–208.
Vollmer-Conna, U. S., &Lemon, J. (1998). Spatial configuration and proximal cues.Learning & Motivation,29, 102–111.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The present study was supported by a grant to J.C. from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. This work was originally presented at the 10th Annual International Conference on Comparative Cognition, Melbourne Beach, FL (March 2003).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tremblay, J., Cohen, J. Spatial configuration and list learning of proximally cued arms by rats in the enclosed four-arm radial maze. Animal Learning & Behavior 33, 78–89 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196052
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196052