Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2023 May 28;446:114410. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114410. Epub 2023 Mar 27.
During spatial working memory tasks, animals need to retain information about a previous trial in order to successfully select their next trajectory. Specifically, the delayed non-match to position task requires rats to follow a cued sample trajectory, then select the opposite route after a delay period. When faced with this choice, rats will occasionally exhibit complex behaviors, such as pausing and sweeping their head back and forth. These behaviors, called vicarious trial and error (VTE), are thought to be a behavioral manifestation of deliberation. However, we identified similarly complex behaviors during sample-phase traversals, despite the fact that these laps do not require a decision. First, we identified that these behaviors occurred more often after incorrect trials than before them, indicating that rats are retaining information between trials. Next, we determined that these pause-and-reorient (PAR) behaviors increased the likelihood of the next choice being selected correctly, suggesting that these behaviors assist the rat in successful task performance. Finally, we identified similarities between PARs and choice-phase VTEs, suggesting that VTEs may not only be reflective of deliberation, but may also contribute to a strategy for successful performance of spatial working memory tasks.
在空间工作记忆任务中，动物需要保留前一次试验的信息，以便成功选择下一次轨迹。具体来说，延迟非匹配位置任务要求大鼠遵循提示样本轨迹，然后在延迟期后选择相反的路线。当面临这种选择时，大鼠偶尔会表现出复杂的行为，例如暂停和来回摆动头部。这些行为被称为替代性试错（VTE），被认为是深思熟虑的行为表现。然而，我们在样本阶段的穿越中也发现了类似的复杂行为，尽管这些过程不需要决策。首先，我们发现这些行为在错误试验后比在它们之前更频繁地发生，表明大鼠在试验之间保留了信息。接下来，我们确定这些暂停和重新定向（PAR）行为增加了下一个选择正确的可能性，表明这些行为有助于大鼠成功完成任务。最后，我们发现 PAR 与选择阶段 VTE 之间存在相似性，表明 VTE 不仅可能反映深思熟虑，而且可能有助于成功执行空间工作记忆任务的策略。
