Hamsters’ (mesocricetus auratus) memory in a radial maze analog: the role of spatial versus olfactory cues

The golden hamster’s (Mesocricetus auratus) performance on radial maze tasks has not been studied a lot. Here we report the results of a spatial memory task that involved eight food stations equidistant from the center of a circular platform. Each of six male hamsters depleted the food stations along successive
choices. After each choice and a 5-s retention delay, the hamster was brought back to the center of the platform for the next choice opportunity. When only one baited station was left, the platform was rotated
to evaluate whether olfactory traces guided hamsters’ choices. Results showed that despite the retention delay hamsters performed above chance in searching for food. The choice distributions observed during
the rotation probes were consistent with spatial memory and could be explained without assuming guidance by olfactory cues. The radial maze analog we devised could be useful in furthering the study
of spatial memory in hamsters.
Francois Tonneau was supported by the Portuguese FCT during the writing of this article.