Forward conditioning with wheel running causes place aversion in rats.
Backward pairings of a distinctive chamber as a conditioned stimulus and wheel running as an unconditioned stimulus (i.e., running-then-chamber) can produce a conditioned place preference in rats. The present study explored whether a forward conditioning procedure with these stimuli (i.e., chamber-then-running) would yield place preference or aversion. Confinement of a rat in one of two distinctive chambers was followed by a 20- or 60-min running opportunity, but confinement in the other was not. After four repetitions of this treatment (i.e., differential conditioning), a choice preference test was given in which the rat had free access to both chambers. This choice test showed that the rats given 60-min running opportunities spent less time in the running-paired chamber than in the unpaired chamber. Namely, a 60-min running opportunity after confinement in a distinctive chamber caused conditioned aversion to that chamber after four paired trials. This result was discussed with regard to the opponent-process theory of motivation.
Psychology Section, Department of Integrated Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan.
Takahisa
T
Masaki
Sadahiko
S
Nakajima
D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004777:Environment; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors