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

Abstract

Shortcut ability in hamsters was tested in a complex wheel-shaped maze, in which kinesthetic information could be associated with environmental (proximal and/or distal) cues. The hamsters, previously trained to reach a hidden goal by a circumferential route, were led to the center of the maze to test their ability to take a directional shortcut to that same goal. In Experiment 1, their ability to accurately take a straight-line shortcut to the goal (from among eight possible paths) when distal cues were available was demonstrated. In Experiment 2, environmental information was neutralized in some conditions in order to enhance the relevance of kinesthetic information. When circumferential training runs were not too complex, the hamsters could use kinesthetic information-"path integration" processes-integrated during their previous training to infer the direction of the hidden goal. © 1993 Psychonomic Society, Inc.