AVERSIVE OLFACTORY SIGNAL DURING LEARNING IN THE Y-MAZE IN MICE SELECTED BY THE BRAIN-WEIGHT

Learning abilities of mice selected by the small and large brain weigh ts were studied in Y-maze. Thirsty mice were trained to find water in one of the maze arms. The minimal latency of this reaction reached in the process of learning was shorter in the mice selected by the heavy brain. Benzaldehyde which is commonly supposed to be an aversive olfac tory stimulus being presented before drinking sharply increased the la tency, nevertheless, it remained shorter in mice with heavy brain. The response to the aversive stimulus varied between the individuals, esp ecially in mice selected by the small brain weight.