ERIC Number: EJ919460
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-9690
EISSN: N/A
Social Effects on Rat Spatial Choice in an Open Field Task
Keller, Matthew R.; Brown, Michael F.
Learning and Motivation, v42 n2 p123-132 May 2011
Pairs of rats foraged in trials either together or separately in an open field apparatus for pellets hidden in discreet locations in a 5 x 5 matrix. Trial duration was either 1 or 4 min. The tendency to choose locations that had earlier been visited by another rat was examined by comparing the choices made in the presence and absence of the other rat. Rats avoided visits to locations that had earlier been visited by the other rat, but only if they had also visited the same location earlier in a short duration trial. This pattern of results is consistent with earlier findings from experiments using the radial arm maze. Furthermore, when rats did visit locations that had earlier been visited by the other rat in a long duration trial, they tended to be locations that had been visited longer ago by the other rat than would be expected. This suggests a forgetting function for social memories. These data provide evidence that the social memory reported in earlier studies using the radial-arm maze can be found in other experimental paradigms and that at least some of its properties are common in the two paradigms.
Descriptors: Animals, Memory, Spatial Ability, Comparative Analysis, Experiments, Models, Behavior Modification, Conditioning
Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2131
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A