Several studies have demonstrated that mammals, birds and fish use comparable spatial learning strategies. Unfortunately, except in insects, few studies have investigated spatial learning mechanisms in invertebrates. Our study aimed to identify the strategies used by cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) to solve a spatial task commonly used with vertebrates. A new spatial learning procedure using a T-maze was designed. In this maze, the cuttlefish learned how to enter a dark and sandy compartment. A preliminary test confirmed that individual cuttlefish showed an untrained side-turning preference (preference for turning right or left) in the T-maze. This preference could be reliably detected in a single probe trial. In the following two experiments, each individual was trained to enter the compartment opposite to its side-turning preference. In Experiment 1, distal visual cues were provided around the maze. In Experiment 2, the T-maze was surrounded by curtains and two proximal visual cues were provided above the apparatus. In both experiments, after acquisition, strategies used by cuttlefish to orient in the T-maze were tested by creating a conflict between the formerly rewarded algorithmic behaviour (turn, response learning) and the visual cues identifying the goal (place learning). Most cuttlefish relied on response learning in Experiment 1; the two strategies were used equally often in Experiment 2. In these experiments, the salience of cues provided during the experiment determined whether cuttlefish used response or place learning to solve this spatial task. Our study demonstrates for the first time the presence of multiple spatial strategies in cuttlefish that appear to closely parallel those described in vertebrates.
This paper provides a short overview of the scientific knowledge concerning short-distance navigation in cephalopods. Studies in laboratory controlled conditions and observations in the field provide converging evidence that cephalopods use visual cues to navigate and demonstrate spatial memory. A recent study also provides the first evidence for the neural substrates underlying spatial abilities in cuttlefish. The functions of spatial cognition in cephalopods are discussed from an evolutionary standpoint.
This study aims to analyze the effects of electrolytic lesion, restricted to either the ventral or the dorsal parts of the vertical lobe (VL), on the behavior of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). Two behavioral tests were performed on sham-operated and lesioned cuttlefish: assessment of locomotor activity in an open field and determination of spatial learning abilities in a T maze. The results showed that ventral lesions of the VL led to marked impairment in the acquisition of spatial learning, whereas dorsal lesions of the VL increased locomotor activity in the open field and impaired long-term retention of spatial learning. This study establishes for the first time the existence of distinct functions in the ventral and the dorsal parts of the VL in cephalopods.
Several studies have demonstrated that mammals, birds, fishes and insects use comparable spatial learning strategies. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated spatial learning mechanisms in marine invertebrates. Our study aimed to identify the strategies used by a cephalopod (Sepia officinalis) to solve a spatial task. A new spatial learnings procedure using a T-maze was designed. In this maze, a cuttlefish learns to enter a dark and sandy compartment. By providing different visual cues (proximal or distal ones) to the cuttlefish, we demonstrated in our experiments that their strategies to solve the maze seem to be sex-and age-dependent. Our study demonstrates for the first time the presence of multiple spatial learning strategies in cuttlefish that appear to closely relative to those previously described in vertebrates.
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