View-based strategy for reorientation by geometry

Abstract

SUMMARYHuman and non-human animals can use geometric information (metric information and left-right discrimination sense) to reorient themselves in an environment. The hypothesis that in so doing they rely on allocentric (map-like) representations has received wide consensus. However, theoretical models suggest that egocentric representations may represent efficient strategies for visuo-spatial navigation. Here, we provide, for the first time, evidence that a view-based strategy is effectively used by animals to reorient themselves in an array of landmarks. Domestic chicks were trained to locate a food-reward in a rectangular array of either four indistinguishable or distinctive pipes. In the key experimental series, the pipes had four openings, only one of which allowed the chicks to access the reward. The direction of the open access relative to the array was either maintained stable or it was changed throughout training. The relative position of the pipes in the array was maintained stable in both training conditions. Chicks reoriented according to configural geometry as long as the open access pointed in the same direction during training but failed when the positions of the openings was changed throughout training. When the correct pipe was characterized by a distinctive featural cue, chicks learnt to locate the reward irrespective of the stability of the direction to openings, indicating that place-navigation was dissociated from non-spatial learning. These findings provide evidence that view-based strategies to reorient by geometry could be used by animals. Supplementary material available online at

25 years of research on the use of geometry in spatial reorientation: a current theoretical perspective

“…That is, they failed to choose one diagonal over the other (Pecchia & Vallortigara, 2010a). Another experiment, however, restricted the access to the feeders that also served as landmarks: Only one quadrant of each was open for access (Pecchia & Vallortigara, 2010b). Under these conditions, the chicks managed to learn the "geometry" (Fig.…”

“…Feature learning was interpreted as finding and matching cues common to all views experienced at the target location (Pecchia & Vallortigara, 2010b). Differences in behavior in larger versus smaller arenas were also subjected to a view-matching interpretation (Sovrano & Vallortigara, 2006).…”

“…Differences in visual systems may go some way toward explaining correct error correct error Fig. 3 An illustration of an experimental set up used by Pecchia and Vallortigara (2010b), whose results were used to support the hypothesis of view-based matching in chicks. Four round feeders were set up in a rectangular array in the middle of a circular arena.…”

Navigation by environmental geometry: The use of zebrafish as a model

“…For example, rats trained to find a goal location within a rectangular pool and tested within a kite-shaped pool will search for the goal with respect to local geometric cues provided by the walls of different length (McGregor et al, 2006;Pearce et al, 2004); however, it is not clear whether wall length is learned through association and reinforcement, like other landmarks or featural properties (Cheng, 1986), or whether, like children, the rats' representation of length is dissociable from the representation of distance in a spontaneous reorientation task. Moreover, trained domestic chicks also learn to navigate by an array of freestanding objects (Pecchia and Vallortigara, 2010;Pecchia and Vallortigara, 2012) whereas untrained chicks do not (Lee et al, 2012b), and trained fish navigate by featural landmarks (Sovrano et al, 2003) but do not spontaneously reorient by them (Lee et al, 2012c). Training may implicate general learning mechanisms in addition to spontaneous navigational or environmental representations; in order to compare animals' use of distance and length with that of children, therefore, it is important to use species and tasks for which search behaviour can be tested without training.…”

More than a feeling: incidental learning of array geometry by blind-folded adult humans revealed through touch

“…To return to that location, one compares current visual perception with this stored visual memory and maneuvers to reduce the discrepancy. Mounting evidence suggests that insects and birds may accomplish successful orientation with respect to enclosures and landmark arrays in such an egocentric fashion (Stürzl et al, 2008;Wystrach and Beugnon, 2009;Pecchia and Vallortigara, 2010b;Pecchia et al, 2011;Pecchia and Vallortigara, 2012;cf. Lee et al, 2012).…”