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Spatial Memory In Black-Capped Chickadees: Studies Of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis And Win-Shift/Win-Stay Spatial Search, Nicole Ann Guitar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Two cognitive adaptations were studied in Black-capped chickadees through tests of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and Win-shift/Win-stay spatial search. Neurogenesis has been proposed to aid memory, therefore it was hypothesized that birds with decreased neurogenesis would perform poorer than controls in hippocampal-dependent spatial working and reference memory tasks followed by a reversal. Subjects with decreased neurogenesis, caused by the neurotoxin MAM, reversed slower than controls, suggesting that neurogenesis may contribute to differentiating similar memories, although this effect was nonsignificant. Win-shift/Win-stay foraging behavior is an adaptation to the replenishing and depleting nature of food. Since chickadees forage on food that depletes quickly …