Long-term spontaneous improvement of performance is related to the strength of the initial training: theoretical implications.
In a recent study we established that following a partial acquisition of a brightness discrimination escape task (15 trials), Sprague-Dawley albino rats exhibited a long-term spontaneous improvement of performance (LTSI) after 7 to 14 days. Some evidence suggests a relation between the strength of the initial training and the delay of the optimal retention performance. This study investigates such a possibility in studying performance of rats (number of trials needed to reach a criterion of 10 errorless trials) following nine different retention intervals: 10 min, and 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days, after a strengthened initial training (25 trials). Under those conditions, LTSI occurred after a delay of 5 to 7 days. Theoretical implications for an inverse relationship between the strength of initial training and the length of delay leading to LTSI are discussed.
Gisquet-Verrier
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Département de Psychophysiologie, C.N.R.S., Gif sur Yvette, France.
Alexinsky
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D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004597:Electroshock; D004924:Escape Reaction; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012153:Retention, Psychology