Abstract
The present experiment examined whether predictability of food acquisition would eliminate the impairment of subsequent escape performance that otherwise resulted from uncontrollability over food acquisition. In pretreatment, the yoked and the yoked-signal groups received response-independent food at the same times as the experimental group acquired it on an FR 5/20 lever-press schedule. However, a pellet presented for the yoked-signal group followed a 1.5-sqc tone, which served as a predictive signal of food. The naive control group received the same clumber of pellets in their home cages in this phase. Results of the escape latency in the subsequent FR 2 shuttling shock-escape test indicated that the predictability of outcome eliminated the escape deficits showed by the yoked-non signal group. This modulating effect of a predictive signal is hypothesized to be due to an overshadowing of uncontrollability by predictability.
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This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (JSPS Fellowships for the Japanese Junior Scientists) to the first author. We wish lo express our thanks lo Aldra Tsuda of the Kurume University School of Medicine and Takahiro Okayasu of Waseda University for their invaluable advice and encouragement. We also wish to express our thanks to Gary B. Glavin of the University of Manitoba for his review of an earlier version of this manuscript.
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Sonoda, A., Hirai, H. The role of predictability in preventing escape deficits following loss of control over food acquisition. Animal Learning & Behavior 20, 427–430 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197966
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03197966