Editing Animal cognition (section)

=====Radial arm maze=====
{{main|Radial arm maze}}
The [[radial arm maze]] is used to test memory for spatial location and to determine the mental processes by which location is determined.  In a radial maze test, an animal is placed on a small platform from which paths lead in various directions to goal boxes; the animal finds food in one or more goal boxes. Having found food in a box, the animal must return to the central platform.  The maze may be used to test both reference and working memory.  Suppose, for example, that over a number of sessions the same 4 arms of an 8-arm maze always lead to food. If in a later test session the animal goes to a box that has never been baited, this indicates a failure of reference memory.  On the other hand, if the animal goes to a box that it has already emptied during the same test session, this indicates a failure of working memory.  Various confounding factors, such as odor [[Sensory cue|cue]]s, are carefully controlled in such experiments.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Shettleworth SJ | date = 2010 | title = Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior | edition = 2nd | location = New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-971781-1}}</ref>