Spatial localization does not require the presence of local cues

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that rats can rapidly learn to locate an object that they can never see, hear, or smell provided it remains in a fixed spatial location relative to distal room cues. Four groups of rats were permitted to escape from opaque water onto a platform which was either just above or just below the water surface, and in either a fixed or varied location. Learning occurred rapidly except for the group for whom the escape platform was below the water surface and moved about from place to place. Transfer tests revealed that a spatial location search strategy was employed by the group for whom the platform was below water but in a fixed location. A second experiment investigated this learning further, revealing instantaneous transfer when the rats were required to approach the platform from a novel starting position. The data of both studies are discussed in relation to recent work on spatial memory in the rat. The concept of the “acuity” of spatial memory is introduced and the procedures used may provide a new approach to comparing spatial memory with classical and instrumental conditioning.