Conditioned activation of fetal behavior.
Previous demonstrations of prenatal learning have relied upon experimental protocols involving training at one gestational age and testing at a later age, potentially confounding effects of experience and retention with developmental changes in the fetus's behavioral repertoire. In this study, a single-session paradigm, which involved the pairing of a neutral chemosensory stimulus (sucrose CS) with a second stimulus that activates behavior (lemon US), was used to assess the learning capacity of the rat fetus. Four CS-US pairings were effective in promoting behavioral activity in 20-day-old rat fetuses when they were reexposed to the sucrose CS alone. The functional expression of conditioned behavioral activation on day 20 of gestation occurs at a time when CNS structures, many of which are involved in sensory processing and learning in older animals, are still undergoing rapid differentiation in the rat fetus.
Smotherman
W P
WP
Department of Psychology State University of New York, Binghamton 13902-6000.
Robinson
S R
SR
D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000502:physiology*; D005865:Gestational Age; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*