Acquisition of a spatial discrimination by rats as a function of age.

Abstract

144 female albino Sprague-Dawley rats, equally divided among 3 levels of food deprivation, were given 10 trials/day on a spatial discrimination until 1 errorless day occurred. 1/2 of the Ss were 33 days old (juveniles) when training began; the other Ss were between 100 and 120 days old (adults). Results show that juveniles learned more slowly than adults, and Ss given a smaller daily food ration learned in fewer trials. The age-related difference in learning rate was interpreted to be a consequence of relatively ineffective inhibitory processes among the juveniles in view of the associated differences in sequence of choices and other behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)