Cooling as Reinforcing Stimulus in<i>Aplysia</i>

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to investigate the role of temperature in the previously reported reinforcing effect of an increase in sea water level in Aplysia. In the present experiment, it was found that the reinforcing effect of water level change on rod-pressing behavior in Aplysia depends on a decrease in temperature associated with water level change. In order to study modification of rod-pressing behavior produced by contingent increase in water level and decrease in temperature, the rate and latency of rod-press responses in experimental animals were compared with those of yoked control animals exposed to non-contingent water level and temperature change. Higher response rates and shorter response latencies were obtained from experimental over yoked control animals, but only the shorter latencies of experimental animals were attributed to a behavioral change resulting from contingent water level and temperature reinforcement..