Research report
Rapid, nonaversive conditioning in a freshwater gastropod: I. Effects of age and motivation

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The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is capable of rapid acquisition of a nonaversive association between food and a novel chemostimulus. Ten to twenty pairings of the unconditioned stimulus, a phagostimulant consisting of a mixture of sucrose and casein digest, and the conditioned stimulus, amyl acetate at 0.004% resulted in feeding movements in response to the conditioned stimulus alone. Four different control groups were used, none of which acquired the response.

Age, and age-influenced motivation were found to have a profound effect on learning and on its expression. Old snails which were well fed prior to training failed to acquire the association, while starved old animals learned readily. Starved young snails learned readily, while young snails which were well fed prior to training also acquired the association, but only expressed the learned response after food deprivation.

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    We wish to thank Mr. Ronald Lemon and Ms. Diane Voth for their generous technical assistance.

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