Following introductory remarks on the necessity of being able to detect learning disabilities and other behavioral impairments in animals at an early age, an apparatus and procedure for the escape training of neonatal rats are described. In this apparatus, both 5-and 7-day-old rats were shown to have improved their performance, in terms of a speed increase, over a 25-trial training session. A procedure for active avoidance training in the same apparatus is also described and its effectiveness is demonstrated in the behavior of trained lO-day-old rats relative to that of yoked controls. The appropriateness of the described app.aratus for the instrumental training of neonatal and infant rats is discussed in relation to that of other apparatuses that have been used for this purpose.
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