[Animal Experiment]-Rats rely on investigation to find targets instead of olfactory tracking

  According to recent research, the latter method is called "checking" and can actually be more effective than relying on the nose to find the target. Urvashi Bhattacharyya and upinder Bhalla of the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCB) in Bangalore found that searching within a limited area was more effective than the “check” method than the tracking method. Their paper was recently published in the journal eNeur, indicating that it was used as a research object to study how animals choose tracking methods after smelling odor signals.

  Many animals are looking for food, chasing companions, or not chasing, smell is an essential instinct. As we all know, dogs, mice, insects, and even humans track odors in a way that "directs to the target". Under natural conditions, in an open and unfamiliar environment, it is believed that it is useful for animals to "go straight to the target" when looking for odor-based clues. But what if these creatures are in a familiar environment? How to optimize the search route by obtaining more information (such as food routes and memories of past searches)?

  "So our question is: If the animal has the advantages of speed, precise positioning of the target or both, which method would you use?" said Bhattacharyya, the author of this article. tell. To solve this problem, Bhattacharyya trained a mouse on the platform to recognize targets with special smells. Correctly identifying scented targets will reward rats. The target recognition test set includes the distance to the "normal environment" of the platform, including interference from background odors and airflow (which can interfere with odor concentration). Observe the behavior and choices of rats, and analyze the methods the rats use to select the correct target.

  Batachararya (Batachararya) said: "I found that the mouse runs to the potential target first, and then check the target in order rather than in order until the correct target is found." Said. For humans, this search is like eating dinner in a room. Choose a room. If there is an error, please search in another room. This is very different from using human scents to find food directly. method. Surprisingly, this method seems to guarantee good target positioning accuracy. Even if there are other background odors and turbulence, it is usually slower than usual, but the animal can still determine the correct target.

  The objective and the mathematical model of the research show that these two search methods are useful in different situations. Although it is advantageous to search a wide range of objects along a straight line, the method of confirming with known objects or familiar environments seems to be more effective.