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Updated: Mar 17, 2026

A Behavioral Assay for Investigating the Role of Spatial Memory During Instinctive Defense in Mice
Published on: July 21, 2018
Emergent weak home-range behaviour without spatial memory
Tomoko Sakiyama1, Yukio-Pegio Gunji2
1Department of Intelligent Mechanical Systems, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology , Okayama University , Okayama , Japan.
Abstract:
Space-use problems have been well investigated. Spatial memory capacity is assumed in many home-range algorithms; however, actual living things do not always exploit spatial memory, and living entities can exhibit adaptive and flexible behaviour using simple cognitive capacity. We have developed an agent-based model wherein the agent uses only detected local regions and compares global efficiencies for a habitat search within its local conditions based on memorized information. Here, memorized information was acquired by scanning locally perceived environments rather than remembering resource locations. When memorized information matched to its current environments, the agent changed resource selection rules. As a result, the agent revisited previous resource sites while exploring new sites, which was demonstrating a weak home-range property.

