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Behavioral detection of 60‐Hz electric fields by rats
Author(s) -
Stern Sander,
Laties Victor G.,
Stancampiano Charles V.,
Cox Christopher,
de Lorge John O.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.2250040304
Subject(s) - electric field , field strength , lever , field (mathematics) , field trial , statistics , confounding , physics , materials science , mathematics , biology , quantum mechanics , magnetic field , agronomy , pure mathematics
Rats partially deprived of food were trained individually to press a lever in the presence of a vertical, 60‐Hz electric field and not to press in its absence. Correct detections that occurred during brief, 3‐ or 4‐s trials occasionally produced a food pellet. The probability of detecting the field was found to increase as field strength increased. The threshold of detection, ie, the field strength required for detections at a probability of 0.5 after correction for errors, was generally between 4 and 10 kV/m. The range of field strengths between almost zero and almost 100% correctness of detection was approximately 8 kV/m. A logistic function provided a good description of the increase in the detection probability with increasing field strength. These performances occurred reliably in 19 rats, some of which were studied for 2 years. Control procedures showed that the behavior required that the rat be in the electric field; the behavior was not controlled by any of several potentially confounding variables.