Date of Award
7-11-2015
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Biological Sciences
Keywords
long evans, pattern learning, rats, serial reaction time task
Supervisor
Cohen, Jerome
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Rats have been shown to be capable of learning and using rules to accomplish serial pattern tasks. The aim of this project was to broaden our understanding of serial pattern learning in rats and to determine whether a basic serial reaction time task (SRTT) is sufficient for investigations of this nature. The three main objectives of this thesis were to determine (1) whether rats can recognize patterns; (2) how switching between different patterns within sessions affects performance; and (3) performance differences between subjects who are given fixed inter-signal intervals (ISIs) and those given varied ISIs on rule-governed sequences. The results indicate that rats can learn basic response patterns, but become poor at switching from one pattern to another over time. ISI consistency did not affect performance, but amount of pattern learning experience did.
Recommended Citation
Iannicello, Kaitlyn Marie April, "PATTERN LEARNING IN LONG EVANS RATS (rattus norvegicus): 3-ITEM SERIAL REACTION TIME TASKS" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5330.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5330