Associative hysteresis in larval amblystoma.

Abstract

The object of the study was to determine whether larval amblystoma are able to establish associations with non-essential signals, i. e., are capable of true learning. This necessarily rules out such effects of training as facilitation of primary reflexes. It was found that the larvae of Amblystoma paroticum could form associations between food taking and the movement of an object in the visual field. In response to movement above them, as, passing the hand back and forth, they would rise from the floor to the top of the aquarium. In the dark room, they did not form associations with the turning on of a constant light, but did learn to respond to intermittent flashes, 52 to the minute. They also learned a simple T-maze of which one end was closed, the other open, allowing the animal to slip down into a dish of water. This constituted the reward. Five animals were given in all 537 trials in 9 experimental series. Each animal in at least one series learned to take the “correct” turn. The results of each seri...