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We examined these cognitive abilities in mice navigating a reconfigurable 3D labyrinth. Na\u00efve wildtype mice solved a complex route within a few rewards, generalized to similar problems, and learned to favor a decision far removed from reward experience, all within a few hours. Computational modeling suggests that much of the learning occurs even before the first occurrence of reward, as the animal builds a model of the environment. Mutant mice lacking neocortex and hippocampus retain all these cognitive abilities, and remember the task over multiple weeks. Their main deficit is a delay of the learning curve from inefficient exploration. In a few hours of exposure to the task, the subcortical brain has little opportunity to reorganize in response to the challenge. 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