Wilson, J. J., Harding, E., Fortier, M., James, B., Donnett, M., Kerslake, A., O'Leary, A., Zhang, N. and Jeffery, K. (2015) Spatial learning by mice in three dimensions. Behavioural Brain Research, 289, pp. 125-132. (doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.04.035) (PMID:25930216) (PMCID:PMC4451476)
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Abstract
We tested whether mice can represent locations distributed throughout three-dimensional space, by developing a novel three-dimensional radial arm maze. The three-dimensional radial maze, or “radiolarian” maze, consists of a central spherical core from which arms project in all directions. Mice learn to retrieve food from the ends of the arms without omitting any arms or re-visiting depleted ones. We show here that mice can learn both a standard working memory task, in which all arms are initially baited, and also a reference memory version in which only a subset are ever baited. Comparison with a two-dimensional analogue of the radiolarian maze, the hexagon maze, revealed equally good working-memory performance in both mazes if all the arms were initially baited, but reduced working and reference memory in the partially baited radiolarian maze. This suggests intact three-dimensional spatial representation in mice over short timescales but impairment of the formation and/or use of long-term spatial memory of the maze. We discuss potential mechanisms for how mice solve the three-dimensional task, and reasons for the impairment relative to its two-dimensional counterpart, concluding with some speculations about how mammals may represent three-dimensional space.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Jeffery, Professor Kate |
Authors: | Wilson, J. J., Harding, E., Fortier, M., James, B., Donnett, M., Kerslake, A., O'Leary, A., Zhang, N., and Jeffery, K. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience |
Journal Name: | Behavioural Brain Research |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
ISSN: | 0166-4328 |
ISSN (Online): | 1872-7549 |
Published Online: | 27 April 2015 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2015 The Authors |
First Published: | First published in Behavioural Brain Research 289: 125-132 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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