Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Small then removed the box for 40 days to test the rat's memory. After replacing the box, the rat was able to complete the maze in seconds, demonstrating that the rat was capable of long-term memory. [8] Next, Small wondered if new rats not exposed to the maze were able to learn it just as quickly.
The Kerplunk experiment was a stimulus and response experiment conducted on rats [1] and demonstrates the ability to turn voluntary motor responses into a conditioned response. [2] The purpose of the experiment was to get kinaesthetic feedback rather than guidance through external stimuli [ 3 ] through maze learning. [ 2 ]
The Hebb–Williams maze is a maze used in comparative psychology to assess the cognitive ability of small animals such as mice and rats. It was developed by Donald O. Hebb and his student Kenneth Williams in 1946, when both men were working at Queen's University at Kingston .
Genetic variation, such as better peripheral vision, can make some rats “bright” and others “dull”, but does not determine their intelligence. [3] Nonetheless, Tryon’s famous rat-maze experiment demonstrated that the difference between rat performances was genetic since their environments were controlled and identical. [4]
[19] [20] The T-maze and radial arm maze are much more structured in comparison. [21] The T-maze, for instance, only requires the rat or mouse to make a binary decision, choose left or right (or East or West). In the Morris water navigation task, on the other hand, the animal needs to decide continually where to go. [11]
Generally tests of spatial memory employ maze designs where the rodent must run a maze in order to receive a food reward. [44] [45] Learning can be shown when the rodent reduces its average number of errors or wrong turns. Aversive techniques such as the Morris Water Maze can also be used to study spatial memory. The rat is placed in murky ...
An example of an experiment within a multiple T-maze was performed by allowing the rat to explore the multiple T-maze without a reward. After letting the rat roam, researchers restarted the maze again with a reward placed at the end of the maze. The rats with prior exposure to the maze were able to easily navigate through the maze to reach the ...
The more trials the rats completed, the fewer errors, which he characterized by the rat avoiding the blind alleys. [4] A maze was used by Tolman in the following experiment: at point A, a hungry rat was placed as the starting point; point B was where the food for the rat was placed. The rat learned to get to B for food throughout the trials.