INVESTIGADORES
DANERI Maria Florencia
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Use of extra-maze cues for spatial learning in the toad Rhinella arenarum
Autor/es:
DANERI, M. FLORENCIA; CASANAVE, EMMA B.; MUZIO, RUBEN N.
Lugar:
Huerta Grande, Cordoba
Reunión:
Congreso; XXVI Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia y III Reunión Conjunta de Neurociencias.; 2011
Institución organizadora:
Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencia
Resumen:
Spatial orientation ability
is a limiting factor for survival. Finding the right place to hide or where to
find food can be the difference between living and dying. We, as mammals, orientate
ourselves in space using multiple environmental cues of the surrounding world,
and we set spatial relationships between them.Amphibians also have the
capacity of spatial orientation, but it is still unknown how they perform this
behavior. Ours previous studies showed that toads can use intra-maze visual
cues to orientate. The goal of the present work is to determine if they can use
extra-maze cues and what is the relevance they have in the orientation process.We
trained toads (Rhinella arenarum) in
a water finding orientation task using a transparent open field (to provide
access to the context visual cues of the training room). After acquisition it
was tested the relevance of the visual cues by hiding them with an opaque
curtain. Tests revealed that animals use extra-maze visual cues to find the
reinforcer inside the open field and that cues near the reinforcer are more
relevant for orientation than those located far. Ours
results show that amphibians are capable of using visual environmental cues for
orientation, being cues near the goal more relevant to reach the spatial goal.