Abstract
The behavioral strategies that mammals use to learn multi-step routes are unknown. In this study, we investigated how mice navigate to shelter in response to threats when the direct path is blocked. Initially, they fled toward the shelter and negotiated obstacles using sensory cues. Within 20 min, they spontaneously adopted a subgoal strategy, initiating escapes by running directly to the obstacle's edge. Mice continued to escape in this manner even after the obstacle had been removed, indicating use of spatial memory. However, standard models of spatial learning-habitual movement repetition and internal map building-did not explain how subgoal memories formed. Instead, mice used a hybrid approach: memorizing salient locations encountered during spontaneous 'practice runs' to the shelter. This strategy was also used during a geometrically identical food-seeking task. These results suggest that subgoal memorization is a fundamental strategy by which rodents learn efficient multi-step routes in new environments.
Highlights
For prey species such as mice, quickly finding effective routes to goals is critical for survival because it reduces exposure to potential predators[1]
To quantify escape trajectories in relation to the obstacle, we computed a target score: escapes aimed at the shelter get a score of zero; escapes targeting the obstacle edge get 1.0; and escapes aimed beyond the obstacle edge get scores >1.0 (Fig. 1A)
Over a single 20-minute session, mice began to exploit their aptitude for spatial memory
Summary
For prey species such as mice, quickly finding effective routes to goals is critical for survival because it reduces exposure to potential predators[1]. Rodents keep track of their position within an allocentric (environment-centered) reference frame[6] This sense of place is thought to be integrated into an internal topological map connecting locations within the environment, which allows animals to compute subgoal locations whenever a new multi-step route to a goal is required[7,8,9,10]. Animals can navigate to goals without relying on an internal map These strategies include integrating self-motion cues to compute a vector back to their starting position[12]; repeating egocentric movements at familiar junctions[13,14]; and using landmarks for visual guidance[15]. We show that the navigational strategy for escape is used for reaching a food reward goal
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