EFFECTS OF STIMULUS DURATION AND REPEATED SESSIONS ON HABITUATION OF HEAD-SHAKE RESPONSE IN RAT

Studied effects of stimulus duration and repeated sessions on habituation in Sprague-Dawley rats using the head-shake response which is rapid twisting of the head about the front-to-rear axis elicited by a stream of air from an aquarium pump. In Exp. I, 4 groups of 8 Ss were given a maximum of 80 stimulus presentations with 5, 20, 5-20, or 0-20 sec. response contingent stimulus duration on 2 sessions 24 hr. apart. In Exp. II, 8 Ss received 40 30-sec stimulus presentations in each of 12 sessions 24 hr. apart. Significant habituation resulted for all groups, but there were no differences due to stimulus duration and no 24-hr retention of habituation. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.