Enhancing the impact of visual extra-maze cues in a spatial orientation task.

In a short-distance homing task, golden hamsters derive the homing direction both from visual extra-maze cues and from the integration of the outward journey. The relative importance of visual configurations in the control of homing was assessed by presenting these cues in conflict with path integration. The hamsters depended mainly on path integration during the presentation of 3 objects at the periphery of the experimental arena or of a background pattern which surrounded the arena at a certain distance. However, they switched to visually controlled behaviour when the objects were superimposed on the patterned background. The possibility is discussed that the enhancement of the depth dimension through the simultaneous presentation of a foreground and a background may increase the effectiveness of visual cues in spatial orientation.