The effects of lithium chloride on spontaneous alternation behaviour in the goldfish (Carassius auratus).
Spontaneous alternation behaviour of goldfish was observed in a two-unit T maze. Whilst significant degrees of alternation occurred under both lithium and sodium treatment, alternation under lithium was significantly lower than under sodium. In a second experiment it was shown that lithium increased the amount of random or erratic behaviour demonstrated by fish. The effects of lithium on spontaneous alternation were fully explained by a lithium-induced increase in randomness of activity, without recourse to any assumption that lithium affected memory traces.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003530:Cyprinidae; D006054:Goldfish; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D012964:Sodium / Q000494:pharmacology
D008094:Lithium; D012964:Sodium