ABSTRACT
In adulthood, animals were tested on various operant conditioning tasks in order to assess learning ability. They were trained on a lever for continuous water reinforcement and then on an intermittent reinforcement schedule. Animals typically acquire such a discrimination by increasing responding in S + while gradually extinguishing responding in S -. The slower acquisition of the treated animals reflected a reduced ability to withold responding in the S - signal. The poorer performance of the treated animals suggested neither an auditory nor a generalized learning deficit. Their acquisition of the lever press and performance on the partial reinforcement schedule was no different from the control. Unlike animals treated on days 14 and 15 there was no retardation in growth and development. The major behavioral finding was that the animals treated on days 17 and 18 of gestation failed to acquire a rate of response comparable to the controls.
