Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat
Abstract Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory. Sheridan et al. (2024) argued that rats replayed episodic memories of incidentally encoded information in an unexpected assess...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Animal Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01880-8 |
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| author | Cassandra L. Sheridan Lauren Bonner Jonathon D. Crystal |
| author_facet | Cassandra L. Sheridan Lauren Bonner Jonathon D. Crystal |
| author_sort | Cassandra L. Sheridan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory. Sheridan et al. (2024) argued that rats replayed episodic memories of incidentally encoded information in an unexpected assessment of memory. In one task, rats reported the third-last item in an explicitly encoded list of trial-unique odors. In a second task, rats foraged in a radial maze in the absence of odors. On a critical test, rats foraged in the maze, but scented lids covered the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. Because the odors used in the critical test were the same as those used during training, automatically encoding odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test of memory (stimulus generalization) may have been encouraged. Here, we provided an opportunity for incidental encoding of novel odors. Previously trained rats foraged in the radial maze with entirely novel odors covering the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. High accuracy when confronted with novel odors provides evidence that the rats did not automatically encode odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test, ruling out stimulus generalization. We conclude that rats encode multiple pieces of putatively unimportant information, and later replayed a stream of novel episodic memories when that information was needed to solve an unexpected problem. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-91f321d65b2447da9b2eb7334835bfa7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1435-9456 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-91f321d65b2447da9b2eb7334835bfa72025-01-26T12:43:46ZengSpringerAnimal Cognition1435-94562024-06-012711910.1007/s10071-024-01880-8Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the ratCassandra L. Sheridan0Lauren Bonner1Jonathon D. Crystal2Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana UniversityDepartment of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana UniversityDepartment of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana UniversityAbstract Although events are not always known to be important when they occur, people can remember details about such incidentally encoded information using episodic memory. Sheridan et al. (2024) argued that rats replayed episodic memories of incidentally encoded information in an unexpected assessment of memory. In one task, rats reported the third-last item in an explicitly encoded list of trial-unique odors. In a second task, rats foraged in a radial maze in the absence of odors. On a critical test, rats foraged in the maze, but scented lids covered the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. Because the odors used in the critical test were the same as those used during training, automatically encoding odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test of memory (stimulus generalization) may have been encouraged. Here, we provided an opportunity for incidental encoding of novel odors. Previously trained rats foraged in the radial maze with entirely novel odors covering the food. Next, memory of the third-last odor was assessed. The rats correctly answered the unexpected question. High accuracy when confronted with novel odors provides evidence that the rats did not automatically encode odors for the purpose of taking an upcoming test, ruling out stimulus generalization. We conclude that rats encode multiple pieces of putatively unimportant information, and later replayed a stream of novel episodic memories when that information was needed to solve an unexpected problem.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01880-8Episodic memoryReplayIncidental encodingUnexpected questionEpisodic-like memoryOlfaction |
| spellingShingle | Cassandra L. Sheridan Lauren Bonner Jonathon D. Crystal Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat Animal Cognition Episodic memory Replay Incidental encoding Unexpected question Episodic-like memory Olfaction |
| title | Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| title_full | Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| title_fullStr | Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| title_full_unstemmed | Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| title_short | Replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| title_sort | replay of incidentally encoded novel odors in the rat |
| topic | Episodic memory Replay Incidental encoding Unexpected question Episodic-like memory Olfaction |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-024-01880-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cassandralsheridan replayofincidentallyencodednovelodorsintherat AT laurenbonner replayofincidentallyencodednovelodorsintherat AT jonathondcrystal replayofincidentallyencodednovelodorsintherat |