Animal cognition
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Comparative Study
Decision making at a crossroad: why to go straight ahead, retrace a path, or turn sideways?
In order to uncover processes in the acquisition of spatial representation, we tested voles, jirds, and mice in a dark grid maze-a relatively homogenous environment comprising 16 identical equispaced crossroads and similar choice of paths at each crossroad. The three species initially displayed a tendency to retrace sections of their recently traversed path, perhaps indicating exploration and learning of an unfamiliar environment by virtue of repetition. All three species displayed the same decision making at crossroads. ⋯ The incidence of turning sideways, in being more difficult than forward progression and retracing, yet necessary in a restricted maze space, did not change over repeated visits to crossroads. Altogether, decision making at a crossroad may be described as going straight ahead for simplicity, retracing a path to memorize it, or turning sideways at a constant rate. The present tests in the grid maze illustrate how tangible entities (crossroads, paths) are integrated during the early phase of acquiring an abstract representation (map) of the maze.