Abstract
Headless cockroaches were trained either to lift or to lower a leg to avoid electric shock. The difficulty of the lifting task depended on the position of the leg with respect to the criterion height. Savings on retraining were seen in the lifting task. However, following training, the leg was returned slowly to its original position, and differences in the position of the leg at the start of retraining were sufficient to account for the savings. No savings were seen in retraining in the lowering task. In addition, 15 min after training, no impairments were found in reversal training. However, reversal learning was impaired immediately following training. It is concluded that the preparation does not remember the correct avoidance response for as long as 15 min. Hence, the preparation is unlikely to prove of value in elucidating the physiological bases of memory. Yoked controls were impaired in learning either the lifting or the lowering task. Impairment in the lifting task was found to persist for up to 1 h following a brief training period; this may represent a genuine memory phenomenon.
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This research forms part of a thesis submitted to the University of Oxford for the degree of D.Phil.
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Willner, P. What does the headless cockroach remember?. Animal Learning & Behavior 6, 249–257 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209609
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209609