Alteration of a Training Memory through Cueing

Abstract

In Experiment 1, retention of an active avoidance response by rats was shown to be enhanced by presenting the animals with a pretest cueing procedure. However, pretest cueing was found to be effective only when it occurred in the training context, not in an irrelevant context. In Experiment 2, cueing in an irrelevant context was found to be effective if prior cues had already been administered in that context. Prior cueing caused the irrelevant context to function as if it had been the training context. The data were interpreted as being consistent with the idea that contextual information can be added to a training memory whenever that memory is cued or retrieved.