Specifying the effect of visual deprivation on the rat's ability to recognize patterns.

Compared the performances of light- and dark-reared Long-Evans rats on a variety of transfer tests following acquisition of a visual discrimination in which the critical difference between the patterns was the type of intersection or junction between lines. Significant differences due to rearing were observed in the initial rate at which the discrimination was acquired and, following 15 days of overtraining, on a subsequent series of transfer tests. Results suggest that the spatial integration necessary to recognize even as basic a relationship between linear elements as angle or junction involves mechanisms that require experience for their development and maintenance. (French abstract) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)