Automated apparatus for the study of learning in monkey and rat

Abstract

Automated apparatus for the study of learning in animals is desirable for various reasons yet attempts to develop such apparatus have met with variable success. In Experiment 1, 14 mature female Rhesus monkeys learned a 4 response double alternation sequence, 7 in a semi automatic WGTA and 7 in an automated two lever apparatus (ATLA) designed to give contiguity between bar‐press and presentation of reward. Animals in the ATLA learned as efficiently as those in the WGTA. When animals were able to trigger the onset of each new sequence they performed significantly better than animals working with a 30 sec. delay between sequences. Incorporating the findings from this study with those from work on automated equipment for simultaneous visual discrimination learning with monkeys, an automated discrimination apparatus for rats was developed. Nine rats working in this equipment learned a simultaneous brightness discrimination task in 120–260 trials.