| Title: | Perception of scent over-marks by golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus): novel mechanisms for determining which individual's mark is on top |
| Address: | "Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. rej1@cornell.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1037/0735-7036.112.3.230 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0735-7036 (Print) 0021-9940 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Hamsters preferentially remember or value the top scent of a scent over-mark. What cues do they use to do this? Using habituation-discrimination techniques, we exposed male golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) on 3 to 4 trials to genital over-marks from 2 females and then tested subjects for their familiarity with these 2 scents compared with that of a novel female's secretion. Preferential memory for 1 of the 2 individuals' scents did not occur if the 2 marks did not overlap or did not overlap but differed in age, but it did occur if a region of overlap existed or 1 mark apparently occluded another (but did not overlap it). Thus, hamsters use regions of overlap and the spatial configuration of scents to evaluate over-marks. These phenomena constitute evidence for previously unsuspected perceptual abilities, including olfactory scene analysis, which is analogous to visual and auditory scene analysis" |
| Keywords: | "Analysis of Variance *Animal Communication Animals Attention/physiology Competitive Behavior Cricetinae Depth Perception/physiology Discrimination, Psychological/physiology Female Habituation, Psychophysiologic/physiology Male Memory/*physiology Mesocrice;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineJohnston, R E Bhorade, A eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 1998/10/14 J Comp Psychol. 1998 Sep; 112(3):230-43. doi: 10.1037/0735-7036.112.3.230" |
