Abstract
Hoffman, Timberlake, Leffel, and Gont (1999) concluded that the tactic of effective trail following (in the form of arm and wall travel), rather than distance minimizing, central-place search, or random search, best characterized the locomotion of rats on a radial arm maze placed flat on the floor of an arena (a floor RAM). The present experiments analyzed further the stimulus control and function of arm and wall travel. Experiment 1 showed that arm travel was controlled more by the edge of a maze arm than by its surface. Experiment 2 showed that rats with whiskers clipped on one side traveled along arms less and along walls more than did intact rats. Experiment 3 showed that maze arms increased search effectiveness and decreased suppression of locomotion by bright light and a novel environment. The results support the hypothesis that arm and wall travel are based on mechanisms of trail following, which, in natural settings, contribute to food finding and regulation of social relations and fear.
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This study was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grants IBN 9408366, IBN-9817175, and BIR 9413220. C.M.H. was supported by National Research Service Award 1F32MH10662. The authors thank Tammi Nelson and Jason Hesting for their technical assistance.
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Timberlake, W., Leffel, J. & Hoffman, C.M. Stimulus control and function of arm and wall travel by rats on a radial arm floor maze. Animal Learning & Behavior 27, 445–460 (1999). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209980
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209980