Response Patterning in a Repeated Acquisition Baseline with Rats

Abstract

A response-pattern analysis was performed on data obtained from rats trained on a baseline of repeated acquisition of behavioral chains. The response patterns identified and analyzed were perseverative responses to a single lever (runs) and a response to each lever in either a left-to-right or right-to-left direction (traverses). The analysis indicated that runs and traverses accounted for between 50 and 70% of all error response and between 80 and 100% of all timeout responses. In addition, the number of traverses varied according to the composition of a sequence: higher frequencies occurred when the sequence required a traverse for completion, e.g., LRCL, than when it did not, e.g., LRLC. The differentiation of sequence type, however, was not systematically related to the level of error or timeout responding. The results suggest that the generation and maintenance of response patterns influences control of the repeated-acquisition process.