Mice learn multi-step routes by memorizing subgoal locations

The behavioral strategies that mammals use to learn multi-step routes are unknown. In this study, we investigated how mice navigate to shelter in response to threats when the direct path is blocked. Initially, they fled toward the shelter and negotiated obstacles using sensory cues. Within 20 min, they spontaneously adopted a subgoal strategy, initiating escapes by running directly to the obstacle’s edge. Mice continued to escape in this manner even after the obstacle had been removed, indicating use of spatial memory. However, standard models of spatial learning—habitual movement repetition and internal map building—did not explain how subgoal memories formed. Instead, mice used a hybrid approach: memorizing salient locations encountered during spontaneous ‘practice runs’ to the shelter. This strategy was also used during a geometrically identical food-seeking task. These results suggest that subgoal memorization is a fundamental strategy by which rodents learn efficient multi-step routes in new environments. Shamash et al. examine how mice learn to get past an obstacle blocking their path to a goal. They found that mice instinctively adopt a subgoal memory strategy, which combines elements from both habitual learning and the cognitive map theory.