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Can rats solve the active place avoidance task without the room-bound cues?

Iveta Fajnerova1, Jana Kenney1, Veronika Lobellova1

  • 1Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic.

Behavioural Brain Research
|April 1, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Overtrained rats can learn the active place avoidance task using only internal cues, but performance is less efficient without external room cues. This study investigated spatial cognition in rats navigating a rotating arena.

Keywords:
Avoidance behaviorCognitive coordinationIdiothetic navigationSpatial behavior

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • The active place avoidance task assesses spatial cognition in rats.
  • It requires navigating a rotating arena to avoid aversive stimuli using distal room cues.
  • Cue segregation in this task is valuable for studying cognitive coordination mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if overtrained rats can solve the active place avoidance task without room-bound cues.
  • To test the hypothesis that rats might rely on internal cues for navigation.

Main Methods:

  • Rats were trained on a rotating arena with aversive stimuli.
  • Room cues were manipulated by switching lights on and off.
  • Performance was compared between rats trained in light and darkness, and during dark sessions.

Main Results:

  • Rats trained solely in darkness failed to learn the task.
  • Rats pre-trained in light performed better in subsequent dark sessions.
  • Exceptional performance in darkness approached light-session levels, contingent on aversive stimuli.

Conclusions:

  • Rats can solve the place avoidance task without room-bound cues.
  • Navigation is less efficient without the presence of external room cues.
  • Aversive stimuli are crucial for maintaining spatial orientation within the task.