Premium
Effects of early tactile enrichment on open field activity and tactile discriminative ability in the rat
Author(s) -
Finger Stanley,
Fox M. W.
Publication year - 1971
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/dev.420040305
Subject(s) - psychology , open field , emotionality , discriminative model , tactile discrimination , developmental psychology , audiology , tactile stimuli , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , somatosensory system , medicine , computer science , sensory system , psychiatry
Twenty‐eight blinded rats reared from 24 days of age under enriched and control tactile environmental conditions were examined at 90 days for the ability to discriminate between surfaces inscribed with different tactile features, and for exploratory activity in an open field. The 2 groups failed to differ on any of the 5 tactile discriminative problems, although open‐field scores revealed differences in exploration. These findings are discussed in relation to the effects of early experience on emotionality and learning ability.