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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents

A System for Tracking the Dynamics of Social Preference Behavior in Small Rodents

Published on: November 21, 2019

Rats exhibit asymmetrical retention functions for hedonic samples.

Angelo Santi¹, Sabrina Simmons, Shannon Mischler

¹Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. asanti@wlu.ca

Behavioural Processes

|August 26, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Rats showed faster forgetting of food cues than no-food cues in a memory task when retention times changed within a session. This memory asymmetry was not observed when changes occurred between sessions.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Animal Behavior
Neuroscience

Background:

The study investigates memory retention in rats using a delayed matching-to-sample task.
It focuses on the discrimination of hedonic stimuli, specifically food versus no food.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine how memory retention differs for positive (food) versus neutral (no food) stimuli.
To investigate the effect of within-session versus between-session changes in retention intervals on memory recall.

Main Methods:

Rats were trained on a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task.
Retention intervals were manipulated both within and between experimental sessions.
The study analyzed forgetting functions based on trial initiation stimuli (food vs. no food).

Main Results:

Forgetting functions were steeper for food samples compared to no-food samples when retention intervals were manipulated within a session.
This memory asymmetry could not be explained by magazine head-entry behavior during retention.
Between-session changes in retention intervals did not produce the same asymmetrical forgetting functions for food samples.

Conclusions:

Rats exhibit differential memory retention for appetitive stimuli, with faster forgetting observed under specific within-session conditions.
The findings suggest a distinct memory process for food-related cues that is sensitive to immediate temporal context.
Results align with previous studies in pigeons, indicating potential cross-species similarities in memory for salient stimuli.