小柯机器人

英国伦敦大学学院Branco, Tiago研究团队发现，小鼠通过记忆子目标位置来学习多步骤路线。相关论文于2021年7月29日在线发表在《自然—神经科学》杂志上。

研究人员调查了当直接路径被阻断时，小鼠如何应对威胁来找寻庇护所。起初，它们向庇护所逃去，并利用感觉线索来越过障碍物。在20分钟内，它们自发地采用了一种次目标策略，通过直接跑到障碍物的边缘来启动逃逸。即使在障碍物被移走后，小鼠仍然以这种方式逃跑，这表明它们使用了空间记忆。然而，空间学习的标准模型（习惯性运动重复和内部地图构建）并不能解释次级目标记忆是如何形成的。

相反，小鼠使用了一种混合方法：记住在"练习逃跑"中遇到的突出位置。这一策略也在一个几何上相同的食物搜寻任务中使用。这些结果表明，次目标记忆是啮齿动物在新环境中学习高效多步骤路线的基本策略。

据悉，哺乳动物用来学习多步骤路线的行为策略是未知的。

附：英文原文

Title: Mice learn multi-step routes by memorizing subgoal locations

Author: Shamash, Philip, Olesen, Sarah F., Iordanidou, Panagiota, Campagner, Dario, Banerjee, Nabhojit, Branco, Tiago

Issue&Volume: 2021-07-29

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.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00884-8

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00884-8

Nature Neuroscience：《自然—神经科学》，创刊于1998年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：28.771
官方网址：https://www.nature.com/neuro/
投稿链接：https://mts-nn.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex