A rat with hippocampal damage has difficulty with the Morris search task because it:
A) loses its motivation to find the platform.
B) cannot remember how to swim.
C) has difficulty remembering where the platform is from trial to trial.
D) develops a water phobia.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Morris search task is a test commonly used to measure spatial memory in rodents. In this task, rats are placed in a pool of water and must swim to a hidden platform that is located in a fixed position relative to distal cues in the surrounding environment. Rats with hippocampal damage have difficulty with this task because they have trouble forming accurate cognitive maps of the environment in which the test is conducted. As a result, they may have difficulty remembering where the platform is from trial to trial. Losing motivation (choice A) or developing a water phobia (choice D) are not characteristic of hippocampal damage, and there is no reason to suspect that rats with this condition cannot remember how to swim (choice B).

A Rat with Hippocampal Damage Has Difficulty with the Morris