The effects of maternal deprivation on learning of social and spatial tasks were investigated in female adult rats. Pups were reared artificially and received "lickinglike" tactile stimulation (AR animals) or were reared with their mothers (MR animals). In adulthood, subjects were tested on paradigms of spatial learning and on paradigms involving learning of social cues. Results showed that maternal deprivation did not affect performance on spatial learning, but it did impair performance on the three social learning tasks. The AR animals made no distinction between a new and a previously presented juvenile conspecific. AR animals also responded less rapidly than MR animals at test for maternal behavior 2 weeks after a postpartum experience with pups. Finally, AR animals did not develop a preference for a food previously eaten by a familiar conspecific whereas MR animals did. This study indicates that animals reared without mother and siblings show no deficits in spatial tasks while showing consistent deficits in learning involving social interactions.

Rats that (1) either ate a sma11 sample of one or two foods (Diet A or Diet B) or interacted with ademonstrator that had eaten either Diet A or Diet B, (2) ate both Diets A and B in succession, and (3) were made i11 preferred whichever ofthe two foods they or their respective demonstrators had eaten. Although eating a food and interacting with ademonstrator that had eaten that food were each sufficient to enhance preference for the food, eating particles of food clinging to the fur of ademonstrator was not necessary for enhancement ofpreference for the foodthat a demonstrator ate. Subjects exposed to demonstrators they could not physica11y contact still exhibited enhanced preference for the food that their demonstrator had eaten. The data were discussed as indicating that although sme11ing a diet, eating a diet, and interacting with ademonstrator that had eaten a diet can each enhance preference for that diet, it cannot be inferred that eating a food, sme11ing a food, and interacting with ademonstrator that has eaten a food each affect diet preference via the same process.The results of a number of studies have shown that after a naive observer rat interacts with ademonstrator rat that previously ate a food, the observer exhibits an enhanced preference for the food that its demonstrator ate