Spatial learning and geometry. Amphibians in the evolution of the brain cognitive systems

Main Article Content

María Inés Sotelo
Rubén Néstor Muzio

Abstract

This article presents a comparative review of the works that have studied the spatial learning in vertebrates using geometry information and visual cues from the environment. We describe experiments conducted in our laboratory showing spatial navigation learning in amphibians and their dependence on a functional medial pallium (homologous area to the mammalian hippocampus). The results indicate that these animals use both the information provided by the geometry as visual cues, but when both types of reference are presented in conflict they prefer geometry to orient (as results found in amniotes). Broadly, these findings suggest that the ability to orient in space is a characteristic evolutionarily preserved and support the idea that the role of the hippocampus in spatial cognition precedes the evolution of fully terrestrial vertebrates.

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How to Cite
Sotelo, M. I., & Muzio, R. N. (2015). Spatial learning and geometry. Amphibians in the evolution of the brain cognitive systems. Argentinean Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7(3), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.32348/1852.4206.v7.n3.11370
Section
Reviews
Author Biographies

María Inés Sotelo, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental

Grupo de Aprendizaje y Cognición Comparada, Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET), Argentina 

y

Cátedra de Biología del Comportamiento e Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina

Rubén Néstor Muzio, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Cátedra de Biología del Comportamiento e Instituto de Investigaciones

Director Grupo de Aprendizaje y Cognición Comparada, Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (IBYME-CONICET), Argentina. Investigador Independiente CONICET 

y

Profesor Asociado Regular, Cátedra de Biología del Comportamiento e Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina

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