Abstract
In two experiments, the influence of exposure to a CS− on the acquisition and retention of a conditioned odor aversion was examined. Preweanling rats were given exposure to the CS− either prior to (CS−/CS+) or following (CS + /CS−) the pairing of a second odor (the CS+) with footshock. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that subjects in both of the treatment conditions acquired aversions of comparable strength to the odor paired with footshock and that retention of the odor aversion was not affected by order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. Experiment 2 indicated, however, that the effectiveness of pretest exposure to various elements of the conditioning episode in reactivation of the memory for conditioningwas dependent on the order of stimulus presentation during conditioning. This differential effectiveness of the various reactivation treatments is discussed in terms of their relationship to the associative “status” of the stimuli present during conditioning and in terms of the information provided to the animal by the reactivation treatment.
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This research was supported in part by Grant 1 RO1 MH35219 from the National Institute of Mental Health to N.E.S. and was conducted while the first two authors were postdoctoral research associates at SUNY Binghamton. The authors would like to thank Charles Edwards for his helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, Teri Tanenhaus for secretarial assistance, and Norman G. Richter for technical assistance.
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Miller, J.S., Jagielo, J.A. & Spear, N.E. The influence of the information value provided by prior-cuing treatment on the reactivation of memory in preweanling rats. Animal Learning & Behavior 20, 233–239 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213377
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213377