Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1976,42, 554.
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1976
INTEROCULAR TRANSFER AND TYPE OF MOTIVATION1 DAVID C. BIRD, MARY BETH BOEHM, LESLIE B. WARD, CHARLES L. SHERIDAN
University o f Missowi-Kansas City and U.S. Veteran's Administration Hospital Sechzer ( 1 ) found that considerable interocular transfer occurred in split-brained cats under shock but not hunger-motivation. In contrast, Sheridan ( 2 ) found little or no interocular transfer in callosum-sectioned albino rats under shock motivation. There appear to be no studies of interocular transfer in rodents using both types of motivation. In the present experiment, 27 male Sprague-Dawley albino tars were given sectioning of the corpus callosum, then tested for interocular transfer of a discrimination of horizontal vs vertical stripes. The method was essentially that of Sheridan ( 2 ) . Subjects were divided into three groups. Five subjects were trained under minimal shock, 6 were fooddeprived and trained with the largest amount of incentive of wet mash compatible with comp!etion of 12 trials per day, and 6 were run with the smallest incentive of wet mash compatible with completion of the trials. Overlap across groups in various measures of interocular transfer was virtually complete. For example, means and SDs of percentages correct for the first day of the second-eye training were as follows: Shock = 66.2. 15.8; Large Food = 67.8, 14.3; Small Food = 69.3, 15.4. Similar degrees of overlap were found for the measures of trials to criterion, errors to criterion, and percentage transfer. Since differences between groups were unreliable, scores for the groups were pooled and tests made for completeness of interocular transfer. These indicated that transfer was incomplete, though some savings occurred. For example, reliably more errors were taken to reach criterion with the second eye than ro reach the second criterion via the first eye (binomial p = ,002, two-tailed), whereas reliably fewer errors were d e n to reach criterion via the second eye than on original acquisition (binomial p = .006, two-tailed). These findings are consistent with previous reports on interocular transfer in rats ( Z ) , and their reliability suggests that failure to detect influence of motivational type was not due to insensitivity of the procedure. It appears that the influence of type of motivation reported by Sechzer for cats is not found in rats. REFERENCES 1. SECHZER,J. A. Successful interocular transfer of pattern discrimination in "splitbrain" cats with shock-avoidance motivation. Jourmal o f Conpardive and Physiological Psychology, 1964, 58, 76-83. 2. SHERIDAN,C. L. Interocular transfer of brightness and attern discrimination in normal and corpus callosum-secrioned rats. Journal o r ~ o m p a r a t i v eand Pl+yriological Psychology, 1965, 59, 292-294.
Accepted January 20, 1976. 'Supported by research funds from the U.S. Veteran's Administration. Send reprint request to Charles Sheridan, Room 100, C.B. Annex, University of Missouri, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas Ciry, Mo. 64110.
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1976
INTEROCULAR TRANSFER AND TYPE OF MOTIVATION1 DAVID C. BIRD, MARY BETH BOEHM, LESLIE B. WARD, CHARLES L. SHERIDAN
University o f Missowi-Kansas City and U.S. Veteran's Administration Hospital Sechzer ( 1 ) found that considerable interocular transfer occurred in split-brained cats under shock but not hunger-motivation. In contrast, Sheridan ( 2 ) found little or no interocular transfer in callosum-sectioned albino rats under shock motivation. There appear to be no studies of interocular transfer in rodents using both types of motivation. In the present experiment, 27 male Sprague-Dawley albino tars were given sectioning of the corpus callosum, then tested for interocular transfer of a discrimination of horizontal vs vertical stripes. The method was essentially that of Sheridan ( 2 ) . Subjects were divided into three groups. Five subjects were trained under minimal shock, 6 were fooddeprived and trained with the largest amount of incentive of wet mash compatible with comp!etion of 12 trials per day, and 6 were run with the smallest incentive of wet mash compatible with completion of the trials. Overlap across groups in various measures of interocular transfer was virtually complete. For example, means and SDs of percentages correct for the first day of the second-eye training were as follows: Shock = 66.2. 15.8; Large Food = 67.8, 14.3; Small Food = 69.3, 15.4. Similar degrees of overlap were found for the measures of trials to criterion, errors to criterion, and percentage transfer. Since differences between groups were unreliable, scores for the groups were pooled and tests made for completeness of interocular transfer. These indicated that transfer was incomplete, though some savings occurred. For example, reliably more errors were taken to reach criterion with the second eye than ro reach the second criterion via the first eye (binomial p = ,002, two-tailed), whereas reliably fewer errors were d e n to reach criterion via the second eye than on original acquisition (binomial p = .006, two-tailed). These findings are consistent with previous reports on interocular transfer in rats ( Z ) , and their reliability suggests that failure to detect influence of motivational type was not due to insensitivity of the procedure. It appears that the influence of type of motivation reported by Sechzer for cats is not found in rats. REFERENCES 1. SECHZER,J. A. Successful interocular transfer of pattern discrimination in "splitbrain" cats with shock-avoidance motivation. Jourmal o f Conpardive and Physiological Psychology, 1964, 58, 76-83. 2. SHERIDAN,C. L. Interocular transfer of brightness and attern discrimination in normal and corpus callosum-secrioned rats. Journal o r ~ o m p a r a t i v eand Pl+yriological Psychology, 1965, 59, 292-294.
Accepted January 20, 1976. 'Supported by research funds from the U.S. Veteran's Administration. Send reprint request to Charles Sheridan, Room 100, C.B. Annex, University of Missouri, 5100 Rockhill Road, Kansas Ciry, Mo. 64110.
