Comparative study of environmental factors influencing motor task learning and memory retention in sighted and blind crayfish

• Published in: Brain and behavior Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 4 - 13
• Main Authors: Bierbower, Sonya M., Shuranova, Zhanna P., Viele, Kert, Cooper, Robin L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-01-2013; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior; Cardiac; central nervous system; College students; Comparative studies; Crustaceans; Food; Insects; instrumental; Invertebrates; Nervous system; Original Research; respiratory; Senses; Stress response; Studies; crustaceans; respiratory; Cardiac; instrumental; central nervous system
• ISSN: 2162-3279; 2162-3279
• DOI: 10.1002/brb3.106

In classical conditioning, an alteration in response occurs when two stimuli are regularly paired in close succession. An area of particular research interest is classical conditioning with a chemical signal and visual and/or tactile stimuli as the unconditional stimuli, to test manipulative and motor behaviors in a learning paradigm. A classical learning task chamber was developed to examine learning trends in a sighted surface‐dwelling crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, and in a blind cave‐dwelling crayfish, Orconectes australis packardi. We examined whether learning is influenced by environmental factors and/or reliance on different primary sensory modalities. Crayfish were trained to manipulate a large, cumbersome cheliped through a small access point to obtain a food reward. In both species, acquisition of the learning task was rapid when they were in nonstressed conditions. The blind crayfish tested in low white light did not successfully complete the task, suggesting a stress response.
Schematic representation of the motor task conditioning chamber. The chamber is divided into two compartments, the larger one housing the animal and the smaller one containing a mesh platform with the food reward. Food was attached to the mesh screen. (A) A stylized angled view including the two compartments and mesh screen with worms attached. The location of the access point is indicated by the arrow. (B) Side view schematic to show placement of the mesh platform and the manipulative task of reaching in and up to obtain the food reward.