Some Parameters of Stimulus Preexposure that Affect Conditioning and Generalization of Taste Aversions in Infant Rats

  1. Chotro, M. Gabriela 1
  2. Alonso, Gumersinda 1
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco, Spain
Revista:
International Journal of Comparative Psychology

ISSN: 2168-3344,  0889-3667

Any de publicació: 2001

Pàgines: 43-63

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.46867/C4NS3G GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccés obert editor

Altres publicacions en: International Journal of Comparative Psychology

Resum

The effects of stimulus preexposure on conditioning and generalization of a taste aversionwere evaluated in infant rats, manipulating stimulus similarity and duration, and thelength and procedure (intermixed vs. blocked) of preexposure. Preexposure to simpletastes retarded conditioning and reduced generalization (Experiment 1a), whereas preex-posure to compound tastes facilitated conditioning and increased generalization (Experi-ment 1b). Increasing the number of preexposure trials retarded conditioning and de-creased generalization with compound tastes (Experiment 1c). These experiments failedto find a differential effect of intermixed vs. blocked stimulus preexposure. In Experi-ment 2, a 15 min exposure to the conditioned stimulus during conditioning resulted in aweak aversion, whereas a 60-min exposure resulted in a strong aversion. In Experiment 3,the strength of the aversion and the duration of the conditioned stimulus were directly re-lated in nonpreexposed pups, but inversely related in preexposed pups. In infant rats, thelevel of generalization between stimuli is determined by how preexposure affects acquisi-tion rate.

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Informació de finançament

The present research was supported by a grant from Gobierno Vasco (PI97/35) and from Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (PB98-0230). Gabriela Chotro was supported by a fellowship from the Gobierno Vasco (Programa de Incorporación de Doctores a la C.A.P.V.)

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