Interplay of directional navigation mechanisms as a function of near-goal distance: experiments with the house mouse

Mice (Mus musculus) that shuttle between their nest and an outside goal use different navigation mechanisms, depending on their distance from the nest. This was studied by rotating directional cues and the mice relative to one another. Close to home (20-50 cm) mice choose path integration and orientation by beacon, while farther away from the nest distal landmark orientation becomes more important. The larger the beacon is at the home site, the greater is the distance over which it is used as a directional cue. As mice head towards their nest, they demonstrate a tendency to home by means of distal landmarks at large distances, and by means of path integration or guided beacon integration at smaller distances. This space related sequence in the use of orientation mechanisms is the reverse from the temporal sequence (stages) of learning mechanisms employed when first learning to navigate home (Alyan and Jander, 1994).