Determinants of phrasing effects in rat serial pattern learning.

Full Abstract

Two experiments investigated how brief pauses introduced into serial patterns as phrasing cues would affect pattern learning in rats. In Experiment 1, a 24-element pattern consisted of eight 3-element chunks, whereas a 20-element pattern consisted of four 5-element chunks. In both patterns, 3.0-s temporal pauses placed at chunk boundaries (synchronous phrasing cues) facilitated learning compared to no phrasing. Cues "out of sync" with pattern structure (asynchronous phrasing cues) facilitated learning for the 24-element pattern and retarded learning for the 20-element pattern. Evidence suggested that in the latter case, 3.0-s pauses served as "blank" trials that induced rats to "skip" to the next serial position in sequence. In Experiment 2, shorter 0.5-s pauses served as phrasing cues in the 20-element pattern of Experiment 1. Synchronous short cues facilitated learning, whereas asynchronous phrasing cues had no effect. Furthermore, removal of synchronous cues produced deficits in performance on formerly cued trials, whereas removal of asynchronous cues had no effect. The results of Experiment 2 support the notion that in both experiments phrasing cues served as discriminative cues and indirectly suggest that rats are concurrently sensitive to pattern element cues, extra-sequence cues (such as phrasing cues), and to the relative timing of sequential events.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Wallace, Douglas G (DG); Rowan, James D (JD); Fountain, Stephen B (SB);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2892, USA.

Grants: MH48402 (Agency:United States NIMH)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Animal cognition (Anim Cogn), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Apr; vol 11 (issue 2) : pp 199-214

Dates: Created 2008/03/19; Completed 2008/07/10;

PMID: 17940815, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Analysis of Variance
Animals
Concept Formation - physiology
Conditioning, Operant - physiology
Discrimination Learning - physiology

Male
Pattern Recognition, Physiological - physiology
Rats
Serial Learning - physiology
Time Perception - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.