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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles

Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles

Published on: January 3, 2017

Differences in cue-dependent spatial navigation may be revealed by in-depth swimming analysis.

Deirdre R Harvey¹, Lesley Brant, Sean Commins

¹Department of Psychology, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland.

Behavioural Processes

|July 7, 2009

Summary

The number of visual cues in the Morris water maze (MWM) affects spatial navigation strategies. While animals navigate effectively with one cue, fewer cues lead to simpler, beacon-like navigation behaviors.

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Last Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles

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Published on: January 3, 2017

Assessing Human Spatial Navigation in a Virtual Space and its Sensitivity to Exercise

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Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience
Cognitive Science

Background:

Allocentric navigation, the ability to orient within an environment relative to external cues, is crucial for spatial learning.
The Morris water maze (MWM) is a widely used behavioral paradigm to study spatial learning and memory in rodents.
The influence of environmental complexity, specifically the number of distal visual cues, on MWM performance is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the number of distal visual cues (one vs. three) impacts allocentric navigation in the Morris water maze (MWM).
To compare the swimming behavior and strategy acquisition of animals under different cue conditions during MWM training.

Main Methods:

Rodents were trained in the MWM under two conditions: one distal visual cue or three distal visual cues.
Detailed analysis of platform-based and swimming behaviors was conducted.
Acquisition of the hidden platform location was monitored.

Main Results:

Animals in both one-cue and three-cue conditions successfully acquired the MWM task.
Subtle but significant differences in swimming patterns were observed between the groups.
Animals with a single cue exhibited a simpler navigation strategy, utilizing the cue as a direct beacon.

Conclusions:

The number of distal visual cues modulates spatial navigation strategies in the MWM.
Even with a single cue, effective spatial learning can occur, albeit with a less complex behavioral repertoire.
Environmental cue availability plays a critical role in shaping the cognitive strategies employed during spatial navigation.