title: The structure of individual differences in batteries of rapid acquisition tasks in mice.
abstract: Two experiments examined the structure of individual differences in mice by means of tasks that produced significant acquisition within 1 session. In Experiment 1, 5 cognitive tasks-detour, winshift, olfactory discrimination, fear conditioning, and operant acquisition-were used in conjunction with two control procedures: an open field and a light- dark test. In Experiment 2, some modifications were made to the tasks used in the 1st experiment, and 3 new tasks were used in conjunction with the same control procedures. The battery consisted of 5 learning tasks: detour, Hebb-Williams, radial maze, olfactory foraging, and fear conditioning. Results of both experiments indicate that when cognitive tasks and control procedures were included in principal-components analyses most of the variance attached principally to individual tasks rather than to a general component as is found typically in human cognitive batteries. When control procedures were eliminated, there was better evidence for the presence of a general cognitive factor, particularly in Experiment 2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610, USA. clocurto@holycross.edu
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Locurton
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benoit
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miele
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D007858:Learning; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D011930:Reaction Time; D012903:Smell