Spatial Learning in the Floor Maze by Rattus Norvegicus

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Bauer, Gordon

Keywords

Spatial Learning, Rattus Norvegicus, Rat, Associative Learning Theory, Hippocampus

Area of Concentration

Biological Psychology

Abstract

Blocking, when preexistent learning about one cue inhibits learning about a new, redundant cue, is known to occur readily in the temporal domain. In the spatial domain, its presence is not as clear: the existence of blocking is seen as support for associative learning properties, which may not be complex enough to accurately describe navigational systems such as those that appear to be used in spatial learning. A beacon is a cue towards which direct approach yields approach to the goal; a landmark is a distal, nonexplorable element that may be used as a navigational cue. This experiment sought to examine the effects of variable and static release and beacon locations on the existence of blocking in a floor maze. Additional navigation strategies were also examined. A square floor maze, approximately 12 feet long on each side, with four symmetrical quadrants was used; each quadrant contained a reward cup. A release basket was positioned in the center of each maze wall. Four treatment groups of adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were studied: Variable Release/Static Beacon, Variable Release/ Variable Beacon, Static Release/Static Beacon, and Static Release/ Variable Beacon. Each group received two trials per day for twelve days of training under these conditions, followed by the addition of landmarks and eight subsequent days of training in which all release and beacon positions remained static. A series of tests followed the training days. No conclusions regarding the existence of blocking can be made, as subjects learned to respond to unknown visual background cues redundant with landmark positions. Overall, a variety of strategies were witnessed, suggesting multiple systems of processing spatial information; however, results were not always distinct between groups.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS