Female albino rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain, 31, 70, and 110 days of age, received 10 tests in an open field. The youngest animals increased their locomotor activity during successive tests; there was no increase among the older groups. Results demonstrate the hyperreactivity of immature rats and the possible role of this age-related effect on learning and memory is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BronsteinP. M.A critical period for activity development in the rat. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, 1972. (a)
2.
BronsteinP. M.The open-field activity of the rat as a function of age: Cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1972, 80, 335–341. (b)
3.
BronsteinP. M.Repeated trials with the albino rat in the open field as a function of age and deprivation. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1972, in press. (c)
4.
BronsteinP. M.LevineM. J.WolkoffF. D.Activity development in Rattus norvegicus: A critical period. Paper presented at the meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Reno, Nevada, June, 1972.
5.
CampbellB. A.SpearN. E.Ontogeny of memory. Psychological Review, 1972, 79, 215–236.
6.
CandlandD. K.NagyZ. M.The open field: Some comparative data. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1969, 159, 831–851.
7.
ValleF. P.Rats' performance on repeated tests in the open field as a function of age. Psychonomic Science, 1971, 23, 333–335.
8.
VinceM. A.Developmental changes in learning capacity. In ThorpeW. H.ZangwillO. L. (Eds.), Current problems in animal behaviour. London: Cambridge Univer. Press, 1966. Pp. 225–247.
9.
WinerB. J.Statistical principles in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962.