Records |
Author |
Gallistel, C.R.; Cramer, A.E. |
Title |
Computations on metric maps in mammals: getting oriented and choosing a multi-destination route |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
The Journal of Experimental Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Biol |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
199 |
Issue |
Pt 1 |
Pages |
211-217 |
Keywords |
Animals; Brain/physiology; Cercopithecus aethiops; Cognition/*physiology; Humans; Mammals/*physiology; Movement; Orientation/*physiology; Rats; Space Perception; Visual Pathways/*physiology |
Abstract |
The capacity to construct a cognitive map is hypothesized to rest on two foundations: (1) dead reckoning (path integration); (2) the perception of the direction and distance of terrain features relative to the animal. A map may be constructed by combining these two sources of positional information, with the result that the positions of all terrain features are represented in the coordinate framework used for dead reckoning. When animals need to become reoriented in a mapped space, results from rats and human toddlers indicate that they focus exclusively on the shape of the perceived environment, ignoring non-geometric features such as surface colors. As a result, in a rectangular space, they are misoriented half the time even when the two ends of the space differ strikingly in their appearance. In searching for a hidden object after becoming reoriented, both kinds of subjects search on the basis of the object's mapped position in the space rather than on the basis of its relationship to a goal sign (e.g. a distinctive container or nearby marker), even though they have demonstrably noted the relationship between the goal and the goal sign. When choosing a multidestination foraging route, vervet monkeys look at least three destinations ahead, even though they are only capable of keeping a maximum of six destinations in mind at once. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles 90095, USA |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0022-0949 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:8576692 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2757 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Etienne, A.S.; Maurer, R.; Seguinot, V. |
Title |
Path integration in mammals and its interaction with visual landmarks |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1996 |
Publication |
The Journal of Experimental Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Biol |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
199 |
Issue |
Pt 1 |
Pages |
201-209 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cognition/physiology; Cricetinae; Gerbillinae; Humans; Locomotion/*physiology; Mammals/*physiology; Mesocricetus; Mice; Proprioception/physiology; Rats; Visual Pathways/*physiology; Visual Perception/*physiology |
Abstract |
During locomotion, mammals update their position with respect to a fixed point of reference, such as their point of departure, by processing inertial cues, proprioceptive feedback and stored motor commands generated during locomotion. This so-called path integration system (dead reckoning) allows the animal to return to its home, or to a familiar feeding place, even when external cues are absent or novel. However, without the use of external cues, the path integration process leads to rapid accumulation of errors involving both the direction and distance of the goal. Therefore, even nocturnal species such as hamsters and mice rely more on previously learned visual references than on the path integration system when the two types of information are in conflict. Recent studies investigate the extent to which path integration and familiar visual cues cooperate to optimize the navigational performance. |
Address |
Laboratoire d'Ethologie, FPSE, Universite de Geneve, Carouge, Switzerland |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0022-0949 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:8576691 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2758 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Healy, S.D.; Braham, S.R.; Braithwaite, V.A. |
Title |
Spatial working memory in rats: no differences between the sexes |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1999 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
266 |
Issue |
1435 |
Pages |
2303-2308 |
Keywords |
Animals; Estrus/metabolism; Female; Male; Memory/*physiology; Rats; Sex Factors; Swimming |
Abstract |
In a number of mammalian species, males appear to have superior spatial abilities to females. The favoured explanations for this cognitive difference are hormonal, with higher testosterone levels in males than females leading to better spatial performance, and evolutionary, where sexual selection has favoured males with increased spatial abilities for either better navigational skills in hunting or to enable an increased territory size. However, an alternative explanation for this sex difference focuses on the role of varying levels of oestrogen in females in spatial cognition (the 'fertility and parental care' hypothesis). One possibility is that varying oestrogen levels result in variation in spatial learning and memory so that, when tested across the oestrous cycle, females perform as well as males on days of low oestrogen but more poorly on days of high oestrogen. If day in the oestrous cycle is not taken into account then, across an experiment, any sex differences found would always produce male superiority. We used a spatial working memory task in a Morris water maze to test the spatial learning and memory abilities of male and female rats. The rats were tested across a number of consecutive days during which the females went through four oestrous cycles. We found no overall sex differences in latencies to reach a submerged platform in a Morris water maze but, on the day of oestrus (low oestrogen), females took an extra swim to learn the platform's location (a 100% increase over the other days in the cycle). Female swim speed also varied across the oestrous cycle but females were no less active on the day of oestrus. These results oppose the predictions of the fertility and parental care hypothesis. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle, UK. s.healey@ed.ac.uk |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:10629980 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2818 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Blaisdell, A.P.; Sawa, K.; Leising, K.J.; Waldmann, M.R. |
Title |
Causal reasoning in rats |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Science (New York, N.Y.) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Science |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
311 |
Issue |
5763 |
Pages |
1020-1022 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Bayes Theorem; *Cognition; Comprehension; Forecasting; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans |
Abstract |
Empirical research with nonhuman primates appears to support the view that causal reasoning is a key cognitive faculty that divides humans from animals. The claim is that animals approximate causal learning using associative processes. The present results cast doubt on that conclusion. Rats made causal inferences in a basic task that taps into core features of causal reasoning without requiring complex physical knowledge. They derived predictions of the outcomes of interventions after passive observational learning of different kinds of causal models. These competencies cannot be explained by current associative theories but are consistent with causal Bayes net theories. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. blaisdell@psych.ucla.edu |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
1095-9203 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:16484500 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
154 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Foraging, memory, and constraints on learning |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1985 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
443 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
216-226 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild; *Appetitive Behavior; *Avoidance Learning; Birds; *Conditioning, Classical; Discrimination Learning; Food Preferences; *Memory; *Mental Recall; Motivation; *Predatory Behavior; Rats; *Taste |
Abstract |
|
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0077-8923 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:3860072 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
384 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Zhang, T.-Y.; Parent, C.; Weaver, I.; Meaney, M.J. |
Title |
Maternal programming of individual differences in defensive responses in the rat |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
Volume ![sorted by Volume (numeric) field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
1032 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
85-103 |
Keywords |
Adaptation, Biological; Aggression/*physiology; Animals; Evolution; Female; Gene Expression/physiology; Humans; Individuality; *Maternal Behavior; Phenotype; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Rats; Stress, Psychological/physiopathology |
Abstract |
This paper describes the results of a series of studies showing that variations in mother-pup interactions program the development of individual differences in behavioral and endocrine stress responses in the rat. These effects are associated with altered expression of genes in brain regions, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, that regulate the expression of stress responses. Studies from evolutionary biology suggest that such “maternal effects” are common and often associated with variations in the quality of the maternal environment. Together these findings suggest an epigenetic process whereby the experience of the mother alters the nature of the parent-offspring interactions and thus the phenotype of the offspring. |
Address |
McGill Program for the Study of Behavior, Genes and Environment, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 6875 boul. LaSalle, Montreal (Quebec), Canada H4H 1R3 |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
English |
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
0077-8923 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:15677397 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4132 |
Permanent link to this record |