Endogenous Odor Control of Animal Runway Performance: Generality, Questions, and Utility

Abstract

The present paper provides a selective overview of observations and questions stemming from the work introduced above in the Section Introduction by Ludvigson. In addition, it explores certain theoretical issues and documents some uses to which odor-based responding has been put as an assay for drug effects, highlighting new data on aspartame. Some of the questions raised are discussed in more detail in other papers in this issue. Generality of Observations and Questions of Mechanisms Cross-Species InvestigationsAs noted in the Section Introduction, above, early studies demonstrated the presence and influence of Rand N odors on the maze performance of the albino rat, often by revealing their control of doublealternation (DA) response patterning to a DA pattern of reinforcements and non reinforcements. The robustness of this DA patterning was demonstrated by Davis, Anderson, and Nash (1986) who showed the strength of this behavior did not diminish over 45 days (360 trials) of training. Such observations stimulated several cross-species investigations designed to explore the parameters and generality of this phenomenon. For example, Davis (1970), utilizing the procedures of Ludvigson and Sytsma (1967), demonstrated that FDP/SW strain mice were capable of learning the odor-based DA pattern.Davis, Crutchfield, Shaver, and Sullivan (1970) established an interspecies basis for the odor cues by showing odors exuded by Mongolian gerbils were utilized as discriminative cues by subsequently tested albino rats. Davis, Gustavson, and Petty-Zirnstein (1985)