title: Behavioral bias and left-right response differentiation in the rat.
abstract: To examine the proposition that lateral asymmetry facilitates left-right response differentiation in rats, we examined the relationships between the strengths of several behavioral biases and the scores on a learning task requiring left-right response differentiation. No support was found for a simple model positing a monotonic relationship between any behavioral bias and the learning scores. However, performance showed a U-shaped relationship to one behavioral bias. This finding conforms to a curvilinear model in which rats at either extreme of asymmetry are disadvantaged, at low degrees of asymmetry by a lack of navigational reference, and at high degrees by resultant strong position habits; moderately asymmetrical rats have neither disadvantage and are best able to use the asymmetry as a reference in processing left-right information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York 14208.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Axelrod
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation; D051381:Rats; D014796:Visual Perception