Fj. Silva et al., SPATIOTEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SERIAL CSS AND THEIR RELATION TO SEARCH MODES AND RESPONSE FORM, Animal learning & behavior, 26(3), 1998, pp. 299-312
In four experiments, we examined how the spatiotemporal proximity to f
ood of the two elements of a serial conditioned stimulus (CS) influenc
ed the pattern of CS-directed versus food-site-directed behavior in ra
ts. Experiment 1 showed that only temporal proximity affected respondi
ng when the serial CS consisted of two successive 4-sec presentations
of either a spatially near or a spatially far lever (NN or FF). Howeve
r, Experiment 2 showed that behavior depended markedly on whether rats
received a near followed by a far lever (NF) or a far followed by a n
ear lever (FN). Experiment 3 showed that the effects of Experiment 2 c
ould be changed by increasing the duration of the second CS element, a
nd Experiment 4 showed that these changes were not related to previous
training. We concluded that behavior produced by the spatiotemporal q
ualities of the lever elements can be attributed to a mapping between
the temporal qualities of the CS elements and an underlying sequence o
f search modes related to finding food.