Hamsters remember spatial information derived from olfactory cues

Abstract

A dishabituation paradigm was used to study hamsters' memory for the spatial arrangement of olfactory cues. In Experiment 1, the animals dishabituated to a change in the positions of two different olfactory cues, but this experience did not reveal whether the response was based on egocentric (body-centered) or allocentric (body-independent) spatial information. In Experiment 2, the same dishabituation resulted when the experimental procedure required the animals to use spatial information that was independent of body position. Thus, hamsters remember the locations of olfactory cues with reference to a stable spatial framework. The dishabituation paradigm used here is a valuable tool for the study of animal spatial cognition, since it requires no explicit training and allows each animal to be tested in a relatively short experimental session.In a number of open-field studies, it has been demonstrated that rodents are quite proficient at processing the spatial properties of their environment. However, in most ofthese studies, visual cues have been used to provide the rodent with spatial infonnation. Our purpose in this study was to further elucidate the nature of spatial processing by testing adult hamsters (Mesocricetus auratust for their ability to derive spatial information from olfactory cues.

Integration of olfactory information in a spatial representation enabling accurate arm choice in the radial arm maze.

“…Previous findings have shown that hamsters memorize the location of olfactory cues associated with particular locations defined by their relationships with distant visual cues (Tomlinson and Johnston 1991). Our study shows that rats memorize the spatial configuration of the olfactory cues also in the absence of any visual cue, as long as the olfactory cues are coherent with the external spatial frame of reference.…”

“…The reaction to changes of the environment is commonly used to assess the kind of information encoded in a spatial representation (e.g., Poucet et al 1986;Tomlinson and Johnston 1991). In our experiments rats reacted to the modification of the configuration of the olfactory cues in the absence of visuospatial cues, even when the maze was lighted.…”

“…The question is, thus, to determine how olfactory information is linked to information provided by other sensory modalities. A previous study has shown that hamsters derived spatial information from olfactory cues associated to particular locations defined by distant visual cues (Tomlinson and Johnston 1991). No study, however, has shown that animals elaborate a representation of the spatial configuration of the olfactory cues independently of any visual information.…”

“…A special procedure with modified arrangements of the olfactory cues was used to determine if rats had formed a representation of the spatial configuration of the olfactory cues. This procedure has been used previously in different apparatus to study the spatial information derived from environmental cues (Suzuki et al 1980;Poucet et al 1986;Tomlinson and Johnston 1991). Rats were first trained with olfactory cues remaining stable within the maze.…”

Shortcut ability in hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus): The role of environmental and kinesthetic information

“…So, like the group without available intra-and extramaze cues, the animals having only intramaze cues available also had no possibility of using these environmental cues at the central choice point to take the directional shortcut. Recent experiments have shown that hamsters are able to localize olfactory cues with reference to a stable spatial framework (Tomlinson & Johnston, 1991). The present results do not disagree with these experiments, because the generally poorest performances of the intramaze cues group could be the result of a conflict between available kinesthetic information and unreliable exteroceptive information that could disturb them.…”