Behavioral bias and left-right response differentiation in the rat |
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Authors: | M Noonan S Axelrod |
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Affiliation: | Department of Psychology, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York 14208. |
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Abstract: | To examine the proposition that lateral asymmetry facilitates left-right response differentiation in rats, we examined the relationships between the strengths of several behavioral biases and the scores on a learning task requiring left-right response differentiation. No support was found for a simple model positing a monotonic relationship between any behavioral bias and the learning scores. However, performance showed a U-shaped relationship to one behavioral bias. This finding conforms to a curvilinear model in which rats at either extreme of asymmetry are disadvantaged, at low degrees of asymmetry by a lack of navigational reference, and at high degrees by resultant strong position habits; moderately asymmetrical rats have neither disadvantage and are best able to use the asymmetry as a reference in processing left-right information. |
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