Prior stimulation and the perception of causality

An attempt was made to discover whether, in conditions similar to those of Michotte, the number of causal responses given by subjects was influenced by stimulation during the period just before the main experiment. Time-intervals between the arrival of object A and the departure of object B were systematically varied within the range 60 to 390 msec. Those who had earlier been exposed to shorter time-intervals (60 to 210 msec.) gave fewer causal responses than those who had been exposed to longer ones (150 to 300 msec. and 240 to 390 msec.). A possible explanation is offered in terms of the modification of existing “schemata.”     

Control of-treadmill exercise of rats with hypothalamic stimulation

Running and resting behavior of rats was measured during treadmill exercise under conditions involving (1) rear-shock avoidance, (2) continuous electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus, or (3) no rear-shock and no hypothalamic stimulation. Hypothalamic stimulation was superior for eliciting consistent running with a minimum of resting. A second experiment demonstrated that decreases in hypothalamically elicited treadmill running resulting from prolonged exercise could be counteracted by increasing the intensity of the hypothalamic stimulus. A third experiment suggested that very little training was needed to induce a high and consistent level of running performance using hypothalamic stimulation.     

ERIC Counseling and Personnel Services Information Center

This article describes the development and planned use of the Counseling and Personnel Services Information Center, which is part of the Educational Research Information Center (ERIC).