Landová Eva, Chomik Aleksandra, Vobrubová Barbora, Hruška Hášová Tereza, Voňavková Monika, Frynta Daniel, Frýdlová Petra
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 8;15(14):2014. doi: 10.3390/ani15142014.
The spatial orientation of mammals and birds has been intensively studied for many years, but the cognitive mechanism of spatial orientation and memory used by squamates remains poorly understood. Our study evaluated the learning and memory abilities of leopard geckos () in an adapted Morris water maze. The animals learned during the training phase consisted of 20 trials. To assess long-term memory, we retested geckos twice after several months. The geckos remembered the learned information in a short re-test after two months, but after four months, they required retraining to find the platform. We hypothesise that the duration of memory corresponds with short-term changes in semi-desert environments within one season, while disruption of memory performance after a six-month gap may simulate the more extensive seasonal change in spatial relationships in their natural environment. Moreover, during the winter period, geckos exhibit low activity, which can be connected with decreased frequency of foraging trips. Therefore, the memory loss after four months may reflect the low level of memory jogging. The motivation during the experiment was the crucial parameter of learning and memory processes. In later phases, geckos were less motivated to perform the task. Finally, they relearned the spatial orientation task, but they moved more slowly as the experiment progressed.
哺乳动物和鸟类的空间定向已经被深入研究多年，但关于有鳞目动物所使用的空间定向和记忆的认知机制仍知之甚少。我们的研究在一个改良的莫里斯水迷宫中评估了豹纹守宫的学习和记忆能力。训练阶段动物们要进行20次试验来学习。为了评估长期记忆，我们在几个月后对守宫进行了两次重新测试。守宫在两个月后的短期重新测试中记住了所学信息，但在四个月后，它们需要重新训练才能找到平台。我们推测，记忆的持续时间与一个季节内半沙漠环境中的短期变化相对应，而六个月间隔后记忆表现的破坏可能模拟了它们自然环境中空间关系更广泛的季节性变化。此外，在冬季，守宫活动较少，这可能与觅食行程频率降低有关。因此，四个月后的记忆丧失可能反映了记忆唤醒水平较低。实验中的动机是学习和记忆过程的关键参数。在后期阶段，守宫执行任务的积极性降低。最后，它们重新学习了空间定向任务，但随着实验的进行，它们移动得更慢了。
