Abstract
To analyze how search strategies are adapted according to the geometric distribution of food sources, the authors submitted rats to a search task in which they had to explore 9 food trays in an open field and avoid visiting already-depleted trays. Trays were spatially arranged in 4 independent configurations: a cross, a 3 × 3 matrix, 3 clusters of 3 trays each, and a random configuration. Rats exhibited differential search efficiency as a specific effect of the susceptibility of the configurations to being explored in a principled way: Crosses were first, matrices or clusters were in the middle, and random configurations were last. Although no exhaustive searches or highly principled patterns were observed in any of the configurations, performances improved as the sessions went by. Thus, structural affordances of the environment influence the construction not only of search strategies but also of information linked to where the reward is.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 290-299 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
| Volume | 121 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2007 |
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Keywords
- clusters
- navigation
- search patterns
- spatial cognition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
Cite this
Effects of Spatial Food Distribution on Search Behavior in Rats (Rattus norvegicus). / Foti, Francesca; Spirito, Francesca; Mandolesi, Laura; Aversano, Marco; Petrosini, Laura.
In: Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983), Vol. 121, No. 3, 08.2007, p. 290-299.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of Spatial Food Distribution on Search Behavior in Rats (Rattus norvegicus)
AU - Foti, Francesca
AU - Spirito, Francesca
AU - Mandolesi, Laura
AU - Aversano, Marco
AU - Petrosini, Laura
PY - 2007/8
Y1 - 2007/8
N2 - To analyze how search strategies are adapted according to the geometric distribution of food sources, the authors submitted rats to a search task in which they had to explore 9 food trays in an open field and avoid visiting already-depleted trays. Trays were spatially arranged in 4 independent configurations: a cross, a 3 × 3 matrix, 3 clusters of 3 trays each, and a random configuration. Rats exhibited differential search efficiency as a specific effect of the susceptibility of the configurations to being explored in a principled way: Crosses were first, matrices or clusters were in the middle, and random configurations were last. Although no exhaustive searches or highly principled patterns were observed in any of the configurations, performances improved as the sessions went by. Thus, structural affordances of the environment influence the construction not only of search strategies but also of information linked to where the reward is.
AB - To analyze how search strategies are adapted according to the geometric distribution of food sources, the authors submitted rats to a search task in which they had to explore 9 food trays in an open field and avoid visiting already-depleted trays. Trays were spatially arranged in 4 independent configurations: a cross, a 3 × 3 matrix, 3 clusters of 3 trays each, and a random configuration. Rats exhibited differential search efficiency as a specific effect of the susceptibility of the configurations to being explored in a principled way: Crosses were first, matrices or clusters were in the middle, and random configurations were last. Although no exhaustive searches or highly principled patterns were observed in any of the configurations, performances improved as the sessions went by. Thus, structural affordances of the environment influence the construction not only of search strategies but also of information linked to where the reward is.
KW - clusters
KW - navigation
KW - search patterns
KW - spatial cognition
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548862106&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/0735-7036.121.3.290
DO - 10.1037/0735-7036.121.3.290
M3 - Article
VL - 121
SP - 290
EP - 299
JO - Journal of Comparative Psychology
JF - Journal of Comparative Psychology
SN - 0735-7036
IS - 3
ER -