Cognitive and affective aspects of thigmotaxis strategy in humans.

Abstract

The present article describes the cognitive and emotional aspects of human thigmotaxis (a wall-following spatial strategy) during exploration of virtual and physical spaces. The authors assessed 106 participants with spatial and nonspatial performance-based learning-memory tasks and with fear and anxiety questionnaires. The results demonstrate that thigmotaxis plays a distinct role at different phases of spatial learning. The 1st phase shows a positive correlation between thigmotaxis and general phobic avoidance, whereas there is no association between thigmotaxis and general phobic avoidance during later phases of learning. Furthermore, participants who underperformed in working memory tests and in a spatial construction task exhibited greater thigmotaxis and a higher potential for fear response. Findings are interpreted in the framework of interactions among emotion-, action-, and knowledge-controlled spatial learning theories.

Neuropeptides in theDrosophilacentral complex in modulation of locomotor behavior

“…The behavior of avoiding the potentially dangerous central zone of an open field has previously been described in both vertebrates (Kallai et al, 2007;Lamprea et al, 2008) and flies (Besson and Martin, 2005;Lebreton and Martin, 2009;Martin, 2004). In Drosophila, this phenomenon has been referred to as centrophobism and it has been shown to be regulated, at least partially, by the mushroom bodies (Besson and Martin, 2005;Lebreton and Martin, 2009).…”

Zebrafish embryos and larvae: A new generation of disease models and drug screens

“…The pattern of exploratory behaviors reported above, which includes locomotor activity patterns, thigmotaxis, and habituation learning when facing a novel environment are not only well conserved between species, including rodents (Treit and Fundytus, 1988;Simon et al, 1994;Choleris et al, 2001;Sousa et al, 2006), fish (Lockwood et al, 2004;SharMa et al, 2009;Champagne et al, 2010), and humans (Kallai et al, 2005(Kallai et al, , 2007Henry et al, 2010) but also emerge early in life and serve as a good predictor of adult patterns of behavior (Henry et al, 2010;Kavsek and Bornstein, 2010;Wong et al, 2010). The open field test has proven to be a good animalto-man translational system (Perry et al, 2009;Henry et al, 2010).…”

The dynamic process of cognitive mapping in the absence of visual cues:human data compared with animal studies

“…Wall-following has been described as moving along edges (Creed and Miller, 1990) or as the tendency to move while maintaining mechanical contact known as 'thigmotaxis' (Fraenkel and Gunn, 1961). This behavior is prominent when encountering an unfamiliar environment (Kallai et al, 2007) and contributes to the construction of environmental representation (MacEachren, 1992). Wall-following has been described in rodents (Hoffman et al, 1999), as well as in blind people, who utilize it as an initial tactic when exploring an indoor environment (Jacobson, 1993).…”

“…Cognitive mapping is thus assumed to be a process of continuous updating of any current representation as a consequence of changes in the perceived environment (O'Keefe and Nadel, 1978). In order to construct a representation of an unfamiliar environment, the explorer initially relies on an egocentric frame of reference (Kallai et al, 2007;Sholl, 1996). That is, the explorer acquires information provided by the environment in relation to their own location (as opposed to a 'bird-like view').…”