title: Within-event learning during filial imprinting.
abstract: Newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) that have received a period of exposure to a visual stimulus (V1) approach V1 in preference to a novel stimulus (V2). The learning process that underlies such changes in chicks' behavior is known as filial imprinting. Under natural conditions, and in laboratory studies, V1 is often accompanied by an auditory stimulus, the maternal call of a hen (A1). Experiments 1a and 1b demonstrated that simultaneous exposure to V1 and A1 potentiated chicks' preference for V1 in a test in which A1 was absent. Subsequent experiments revealed that additional exposure to A1 after (Experiment 2) or before (Experiment 3) exposure to the V1A1 compound reduced the preference for V1. These findings suggest that the potentiation of visual imprinting is a product of within-event learning that is undermined when one element of the compound is presented in isolation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bolhuis
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Honey
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002645:Chickens; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D007173:Imprinting, Psychological; D007858:Learning; D010775:Photic Stimulation