Navigation in a Space With Moving Objects: Rats Can Avoid Specific Locations Defined With Respect to a Moving Robot.

ABSTRACT: Animals can organize their behavior with respect to other moving animals or objects; when hunting or escaping a predator, when migrating in groups or during various social interactions. In rats, we aimed to characterize spatial behaviors relative to moving objects and to explore the cognitive mechanisms controlling these behaviors. Three groups of animals were trained to avoid a mild foot-shock delivered in one of three positions: either in front, on the left side, or on the right side of a moving robot. We showed the rats can recognize and avoid these specific areas. The avoidance behavior specific for the left or right side of the robot demonstrated animals not only react to "simple" stimuli such as increasing noise level or growing retinal image of an approaching object, but they proces

SUBMITTER: Ahuja N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7689095 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature