Running in an activity wheel yields conditioned aversion to a taste solution consumed before the running, but its underlying physiological mechanism is unknown. According to the claim that energy expenditure or general stress caused by physical exercise is a critical factor for this taste-aversion learning, not only running but also other…

Previous research has found that swim stress during a classical conditioning trial attenuates conditioned taste aversion (CTA). In the current study, rats were used to examine the effects of inescapable swim stress on the habituation of neophobia to a flavored solution and reacquisition of an extinguished conditioned taste aversion. In Experiment…

A greater understanding of implicit cognition can provide important information regarding the etiology and maintenance of psychological disorders. The current study sought to determine the utility of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a measure of implicit aversive bias toward spiders in two groups of known variation, high fear…

Eight western diamondback rattlesnakes ("Crotalus atrox") were exposed to 6 stimuli: (1) clean, unused bedding; (2) an adult male mouse; (3) an adult lactating female mouse; (4) an adult lactating female mouse with a litter; (5) 2 adult nonlactating female mice, to control for the extra surface area in Condition 4; and (6) a litter of newborn…

To examine the effects of vomeronasal deprivation on strike-induced chemosensory searching (SICS) in rattlesnakes we used a newly developed technique to anesthetize the vomeronasal organs. We compared rate of tongue flicking after striking prey in avomic rattlesnakes to vomic controls. Avomic rattlesnakes exhibited significantly fewer tongue…

Previous research has shown that rats increase their rate of responding for 1% sucrose reinforcement in the first half of the session if food-pellet, rather than 1% sucrose, reinforcement will be available in the second half (i.e., positive induction). Four experiments investigated whether this induction effect would be changed by altering the…