Dynamics of Spatio-Temporal Binding in Rats

Aurore Malet-Karas (1) , Marion Noulhiane (2, 3) , Valérie Doyère (1)

1 NeuroPSI - Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay
2 U1129 - Epilepsies de l'Enfant et Plasticité Cérébrale
3 UNIACT - Unité de recherche en NeuroImagerie Applicative Clinique et Translationnelle

Time and space are commonly approached as two distinct dimensions, and rarely combined together in a single task, preventing a comparison of their interaction. In this project, using a version of a timing task with a spatial component, we investigate the learning of a spatio-temporal rule in animals. To do so, rats were placed in front of a five-hole nose-poke wall in a Peak Interval (PI) procedure to obtain a reward, with two spatio-temporal combination rules associated with different to-be-timed cues and lighting contexts. We report that, after successful learning of the discriminative task, a single Pavlovian session was sufficient for the animals to learn a new spatio-temporal association. This was seen as evidence for a beneficial transfer to the new spatio-temporal rule, as compared to control animals that did not experience the new spatio-temporal association during the Pavlovian session. The benefit was observed until nine days later. The results are discussed within the framework of adaptation to a change of a complex associative rule involving interval timing processes.

Mots clés: spatio-temporal binding; interval timing; nose poke; peak interval procedure

Domaines: Neurobiologie; Psychologie et comportements; Sciences cognitives

Aurore Malet-Karas, Marion Noulhiane, Valérie Doyère. Dynamics of Spatio-Temporal Binding in Rats. Timing & Time Perception, 2019, 7 (1), pp.27-47. ⟨10.1163/22134468-20181124⟩. ⟨hal-02194906⟩