EAGER: Integration of magnetic and visual cues by C57BL/6 mice in a 4-armed ('plus') water maze

哺乳动物空间认知的研究主要集中在视觉标志和自我产生的线索（光流，前庭线索等）。这些系统在相对较短的距离内运行，并且在很大程度上忽略了地球磁场提供的全球参考，该全球参考可以用于将视觉地标的局部阵列放置到寄存器中以形成熟悉空间的地图。 有证据表明，鸟类和至少一些啮齿动物（即，小鼠和大鼠）可能由视网膜中的磁敏感光感受器介导，这使得人们推测磁场可能被感知为叠加在动物周围环境上的复杂的三维光强度或颜色图案。这种模式可以作为一个简单的球形网格或坐标系，有助于编码来自其他感官形式的方向和空间输入。 行为研究表明，小鼠拥有发达的磁性指南针，但没有关于小鼠或任何其他哺乳动物如何磁性和非磁性线索相互作用的信息。 拟议的研究将使用小鼠水迷宫试验来研究当两种类型的线索都存在时，磁性和视觉地标线索的相对显着性，并确定学习相对于磁场的方向反应的小鼠是否会将学习到的关系转移到视觉地标，反之亦然。 这项研究的更广泛的影响包括：（1）理解一种新的感觉输入（磁线索）在生物医学研究中广泛使用的行为测定中的作用（例如，研究阿尔茨海默氏症和其他形式的痴呆症），（2）为来自不同背景的本科生提供跨学科研究培训，以及（3）与国家认可的跨学科培训和评估专家合作，开发评估本科生研究的材料。

AbstractStudies of mammalian spatial cognition have focused primarily on visual landmarks and self-generated cues (optic flow, vestibular cues, etc.) that operate over relatively short distances, and largely ignored the global reference provided by the earth's magnetic field that can be used to place local arrays of visual landmarks into register to form a map of familiar space. Evidence that the magnetic compass of birds and at least some rodents (i.e., mice and rats) may be mediated by magnetically sensitive photoreceptors in the retina has led to speculation that the magnetic field may be perceived as a complex, 3-dimensional pattern of light intensity or color superimposed on the animal's surroundings. This pattern could function as a simple spherical grid or coordinate system that helps to encode directional and spatial input from other sensory modalities. Behavioral studies have shown that mice have a well-developed magnetic compass, but there is no information for mice or any other mammal on how magnetic and non-magnetic cues interact. The proposed research will use a mouse water maze assay to investigate the relative salience of magnetic and visual landmark cues when both types of cues are present, and to determine whether mice that learn a directional response relative to the magnetic field will transfer the learned relationship to visual landmarks, and vice versa. Broader impacts of this research include: (1) understanding the role of a novel sensory input (magnetic cues) in a behavioral assay widely used in biomedical research (e.g., to study Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia), (2) providing undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds with interdisciplinary research training, and (3) collaborating with a nationally recognized expert on interdisciplinary training and assessment to develop materials to assess undergraduate research.