A. Olthof et al., In search of the cognitive map: Can rats learn an abstract pattern of rewarded arms on the radial maze?, J EXP PSY A, 25(3), 1999, pp. 352-362
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology,"Neurosciences & Behavoir
Journal title
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-ANIMAL BEHAVIOR PROCESSES
Five experiments were performed to examine rats' abilities to form an abstr
act cognitive map of the pattern of baited arm locations on a radial maze a
nd to recognize that pattern when it was moved to a new location. Following
an initial period of training with patterns of rewarded and nonrewarded ar
ms (Experiments 1 and 2) or with patterns of different quantities of reward
(Experiment 3), a test phase was carried out in which the initial pattern
was rotated varying distances around the maze. In Experiments 4 and 5, test
ing was carried out in an environment different from the one used in traini
ng. All 5 experiments failed to yield any evidence that rats learned a geom
etric or topographical representation of a pattern of reward locations that
could be transferred to a new placement of the pattern.