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. © 1991 Psychonomic Society, Inc.