Days Of Acquisition Training Research Articles

Adaptation to Cyclic Food Deprivation in the Acquisition of an Instrumental Running Response

Groups of 16 rats were placed on a 23-hr. deprivation schedule either 2, 4, 8, or 20 days prior to 10 days of acquisition training in a straight alley. Analyses of daily median latencies and running times, or a log transformation of these, yielded only one significant difference between group means; the 8- and 20-day deprivation groups were faster than the 2- or 4-day groups on log running times over Days 6 to 10. The 8- and 20-day groups had consistently lower variances (within groups) than did the 2- and 4-day groups. A minimum of eight days deprivation is recommended.