SENSORY PRECONDITIONING FOR FEEDING RESPONSE IN THE POND SNAIL, LYMNAEA-STAGNALIS

We demonstrated a sensory preconditioning in the pond snail, Lymnaea s tagnalis. An appetitive sucrose solution (a conditioned stimulus: CS1) and weak vibration (another conditioned stimulus: CS2) were first ass ociated, and then the CS2 and an aversive KCl solution (an uncondition ed stimulus: UCS) were done. To build the conditioning, two different training procedures, spaced and massed, were examined. After the both training, the sensory preconditioning was built: significantly fewer f eeding response to the CS1 became elicited; slower latency to the firs t bite to the CS1 was induced. No significant differences on the memor y retention between these training procedures were found in the sensor y preconditioning. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.