Place learning without prior performance.

Abstract

A total of 103 rats was drawn from one place in a room to another for 18 trials in a transparent cable car, all the while undergoing continuous shock. They were subsequently tested on an elevated maze in three groups. In the maze, Group I animals had to choose between running to the place where shock began (starting point) and the place where shock had stopped (terminus); Group II, between a neutral place and the terminus; and Group III, between a neutral place and the starting point. Group I showed a significant preference for the terminus, but no differences were found for the other two groups. The results are interpreted as indicating that place learning (1) may occur without prior performance, and (2) is restricted to regions which the animals had previously traversed.