Bye Cameron M, Hong Nancy S, Moore Kevin, Deibel Scott H, McDonald Robert J
The Canadian Center for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada.
Learn Behav. 2019 Mar;47(1):29-37. doi: 10.3758/s13420-018-0319-0.
The Morris water maze is a popular task for examining spatial navigation and memory in rats. Historically, emphasis has been put on extramaze cues as the primary environmental feature guiding navigation and spatial memory formation. However, other features of the environment may also be involved. In this experiment, we trained rats on the spatial version of the Morris water maze over four days. A probe test was given 24 h after training, in which the shape of the pool either remained the same as during training or was changed to a different shape. Mass training of a new platform position in one training session was performed in a pool of one of these two shapes, with a second probe test being done 24 h afterward. The results showed that spatial training produces a spatial preference for the trained location in the probe test when the pool shape remains the same. However, changing the shape of the pool eliminates this preference. All groups learned the new platform position during mass training and also expressed a spatial preference for the mass-trained quadrant when tested 24 h later. The results from these experiments implicate the use of pool shape in guiding spatial navigation in the water maze and as a critical environmental feature represented in spatial memory.
莫里斯水迷宫是一种用于检测大鼠空间导航和记忆能力的常用实验任务。从历史上看，人们一直将迷宫外部线索视为引导导航和空间记忆形成的主要环境特征。然而，环境的其他特征可能也会起作用。在本实验中，我们让大鼠在空间版莫里斯水迷宫中训练四天。训练24小时后进行一次探针测试，测试中水池的形状要么与训练时保持相同，要么改变为不同形状。在这两种形状之一的水池中，于一次训练课程中对新平台位置进行大量训练，然后在24小时后进行第二次探针测试。结果表明，当水池形状保持不变时，空间训练会使大鼠在探针测试中对训练位置产生空间偏好。然而，改变水池形状会消除这种偏好。所有组在大量训练期间都学会了新平台位置，并且在24小时后测试时，对大量训练的象限也表现出空间偏好。这些实验结果表明，水池形状在引导水迷宫中的空间导航以及作为空间记忆中所表征的关键环境特征方面具有作用。
