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Updated: Oct 21, 2025
An Appetitive Spatial Working Memory Task for Mice in a Semi-Automated 8-Arm Radial Maze, Reducing Fearful Memory Association in the Maze
Published on: July 29, 2025
Rats use memory confidence to guide decisions
Hannah R Joo1, Hexin Liang2, Jason E Chung3
1Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Abstract:
Memory enables access to past experiences to guide future behavior. Humans can determine which memories to trust (high confidence) and which to doubt (low confidence). How memory retrieval, memory confidence, and memory-guided decisions are related, however, is not understood. In particular, how confidence in memories is used in decision making is unknown. We developed a spatial memory task in which rats were incentivized to gamble their time: betting more following a correct choice yielded greater reward. Rat behavior reflected memory confidence, with higher temporal bets following correct choices. We applied machine learning to identify a memory decision variable and built a generative model of memories evolving over time that accurately predicted both choices and confidence reports. Our results reveal in rats an ability thought to exist exclusively in primates and introduce a unified model of memory dynamics, retrieval, choice, and confidence.
