Analyzing Interactions between Navigation Strategies Using a Computational Model of Action Selection

For animals as well as for humans, the hypothesis of multiple memory systems involved in different navigation strategies is supported by several biological experiments. However, due to technical limitations, it remains difficult for experimentalists to elucidate how these neural systems interact. We present how a computational model of selection between navigation strategies can be used to analyse phenomena that cannot be directly observed in biological experiments. We reproduce an experiment where the rat's behaviour is assumed to be ruled by two different navigation strategies (a cue-guided and a map-based one). Using a modelling approach, we can explain the experimental results in terms of interactions between these systems, either competing or cooperating at specific moments of the experiment. Modelling such systems can help biological investigations to explain and predict the animal behaviour.

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