Abstract
Eighty naive male albino rats were trained to leverpress for sucrose on either continuous reinforcement (CRF) or partial reinforcement (PR). Following training, S experienced treatment consisting of either footshock plus ECS or footshock only. Four hours after original treatment, half of the Ss in each group received a “reminder” shock. Results of an extinction test 24 h after original treatment showed that: (1) ECS produced apparent amnesia for footshock, (2) ECS eliminated the partial reinforcement effect (PRE), (3) “reminder” shock produced at least partial recovery from ECS-induced amnesia, and (4) “reminder” shock did not reinstate the PRE. Results were interpreted as not supportive of a memory consolidation hypothesis.
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This research was supported in part by a grant from the University Council on Research, Louisiana State University, to the first author.
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Young, A.G., Fuselier, G.D. ECS effects: An attempt to stimulate recovery of the PRE. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 1, 322–324 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334358
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334358