title: Latency measures indicate new place neophobia in Rattus species.
abstract: Latency to enter an unfamiliar wooden alley from the home cage was recorded on successive daily trials in several populations of domestic rats. All groups showed a decline in latency over days suggesting an initial neophobia. Latencies for individual rats on Trial 1 showed a bimodal distribution in most groups, reflecting mild or intense avoidance of the unfamiliar area. Earlier reports of new place reactions in wild Rattus suggesting an immediate neophilic reaction to a novel area may have overlooked initial hesitations to enter the area because latency measures were not used systematically.
authors.affiliation: Computer Science Department, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, U.S.A.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wallace