The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni).
Disoriented animals and humans use both the environmental geometry and visual landmarks to guide their spatial behavior. Although there is a broad consensus on the use of environmental geometry across various species of vertebrates, the nature of disoriented landmark-use has been greatly debated in...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2020-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229608 |
| _version_ | 1818916812668010496 |
|---|---|
| author | Valeria Anna Sovrano Greta Baratti Sang Ah Lee |
| author_facet | Valeria Anna Sovrano Greta Baratti Sang Ah Lee |
| author_sort | Valeria Anna Sovrano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Disoriented animals and humans use both the environmental geometry and visual landmarks to guide their spatial behavior. Although there is a broad consensus on the use of environmental geometry across various species of vertebrates, the nature of disoriented landmark-use has been greatly debated in the field. In particular, the discrepancy in performance under spontaneous choice conditions (sometimes called "working memory" task) and training over time ("reference memory" task) has raised questions about the task-dependent dissociability of mechanisms underlying the use of landmarks. Until now, this issue has not been directly addressed, due to the inclusion of environmental geometry in most disoriented navigation paradigms. In the present study, therefore, we placed our focus on landmark-based navigation in fish (Xenotoca eiseni), an animal model that has provided fruitful research in spatial reorientation. We began with a test of spontaneous navigation by geometry and landmarks (Experiment 1), showing a preference for the correct corner, even in the absence of reinforced training. We then proceeded to test landmarks without the influence of informative geometry through the use of square environments (Experiment 2-4), varying the numerosity of present landmarks, the distance of landmarks from the target corner, and the type of task (i.e., spontaneous cued memory or reference memory). We found marked differences in landmark-use in the absence of environmental geometry. In the spontaneous memory task, visual landmarks acquired perceptive salience (and attracted the fish) but without serving as a spatial cue to location when they were distal from the target. Across learning in the reference memory task, the fish overcame these effects and gradually improved in their performance, although they were still biased to learn visual landmarks near the target (i.e., as beacons). We discuss these results in relation to the existing literature on dissociable mechanisms of spatial learning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:24:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37dda8f0647f40dc86e4a5a73cc843fe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T00:24:07Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-37dda8f0647f40dc86e4a5a73cc843fe2022-12-21T20:00:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01153e022960810.1371/journal.pone.0229608The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni).Valeria Anna SovranoGreta BarattiSang Ah LeeDisoriented animals and humans use both the environmental geometry and visual landmarks to guide their spatial behavior. Although there is a broad consensus on the use of environmental geometry across various species of vertebrates, the nature of disoriented landmark-use has been greatly debated in the field. In particular, the discrepancy in performance under spontaneous choice conditions (sometimes called "working memory" task) and training over time ("reference memory" task) has raised questions about the task-dependent dissociability of mechanisms underlying the use of landmarks. Until now, this issue has not been directly addressed, due to the inclusion of environmental geometry in most disoriented navigation paradigms. In the present study, therefore, we placed our focus on landmark-based navigation in fish (Xenotoca eiseni), an animal model that has provided fruitful research in spatial reorientation. We began with a test of spontaneous navigation by geometry and landmarks (Experiment 1), showing a preference for the correct corner, even in the absence of reinforced training. We then proceeded to test landmarks without the influence of informative geometry through the use of square environments (Experiment 2-4), varying the numerosity of present landmarks, the distance of landmarks from the target corner, and the type of task (i.e., spontaneous cued memory or reference memory). We found marked differences in landmark-use in the absence of environmental geometry. In the spontaneous memory task, visual landmarks acquired perceptive salience (and attracted the fish) but without serving as a spatial cue to location when they were distal from the target. Across learning in the reference memory task, the fish overcame these effects and gradually improved in their performance, although they were still biased to learn visual landmarks near the target (i.e., as beacons). We discuss these results in relation to the existing literature on dissociable mechanisms of spatial learning.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229608 |
| spellingShingle | Valeria Anna Sovrano Greta Baratti Sang Ah Lee The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). PLoS ONE |
| title | The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). |
| title_full | The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). |
| title_fullStr | The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). |
| title_short | The role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark-based spatial reorientation of fish (Xenotoca eiseni). |
| title_sort | role of learning and environmental geometry in landmark based spatial reorientation of fish xenotoca eiseni |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229608 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT valeriaannasovrano theroleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni AT gretabaratti theroleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni AT sangahlee theroleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni AT valeriaannasovrano roleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni AT gretabaratti roleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni AT sangahlee roleoflearningandenvironmentalgeometryinlandmarkbasedspatialreorientationoffishxenotocaeiseni |