Preexposure of the conditioning context and latent inhibition from reduced conditioning

Abstract

Recently, Wright, Skala, and Peuser (1986) reported a failure to find latent inhibition in rats given unreinforced preconditioning exposure to a tone (PCE) when PCE and conditioning (toneshock) occurred in the same apparatus/context and testing for lick suppression occurred in a different context. The no-PCE control group used for comparison had not been exposed to the tone or the conditioning context prior to conditioning. In the present experiment, the no-PCE control/comparison group received preexposure to the conditioning context, but not to the tone. Although the three groups given 12, 28, or 60 PCEs in the conditioning context did not differ from each other, they all showed less lick suppression in the test context than the no-PCE control group.