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Learning and retention of conditioned aversions by freely feeding chicks
Author(s) -
Hayne Harlene,
RoveeCollier Carolyn,
Collier George,
Tudor Leslie,
Morgan Cynthia A.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199607)29:5<417::aid-dev2>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - neophobia , psychology , avoidance learning , avoidance response , developmental psychology , preference , zoology , taste aversion , toxicology , taste , biology , neuroscience , mathematics , statistics
The present experiments assessed poison‐based aversion learning and retention in freely feeding and drinking domestic chicks whose drinking water was colored blue and adulterated with LiCl for a 24‐hr period. The amount of LiCl self‐administered by 11‐day‐old chicks and their subsequent avoidance of unadulterated water of the same color was examined. The results of four experiments demonstrated that chicks self‐administered large and often lethal doses of the LiCl solution. Chicks subsequently avoided blue water during two‐bottle preference tests administered 3 to 7 days but not 14 days after exposure. These data indicate that neophobia alone is insufficient to prevent nondeprived chicks from ingesting large quantities of a toxin during their initial encounter with it. The lack of long‐term retention in the present experiments indicates that naturally occurring aversions based on visual and illness cues, while effective in the short term, may not be a major factor in the choices made by freely feeding and drinking chicks over the long term. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.