Averaging of temporal memories by rats.
Rats were trained on a mixed fixed-interval schedule in which stimulus A (tone or light) indicated food availability after 10 s and stimulus B (the other stimulus) indicated food availability after 20 s. Testing consisted of nonreinforced probe trials in which the stimulus was A, B, or the compound AB. On single-stimulus trials, rats responded with a peak of activity around the programmed reinforced time. On compound-stimulus trials, rats showed a single scalar peak of responding at a time midway between those for stimulus A and B. These results suggest that when provided with discrepant information regarding the temporal predictability of reinforcement, rats compute an average of the scheduled reinforcement times for the A and B stimuli and use this average to generate an expectation of reward for the compound stimuli.
Swanton
Dale N
DN
Department of Psychology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA.
Gooch
Cynthia M
CM
Matell
Matthew S
MS
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011340:Problem Solving; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013998:Time Perception