Effect of early auditory stimulation on the choice of acoustical environment by adult Swiss albino mice (Mus musculus).

In 2 experiments, 265 Swiss albino Rb-3 9-wk-old untreated mice, when placed in a novel environment composed of a central cage surrounded by 4 dark boxes in which different sounds were emitted, explored the boxes for 1 or 2 hrs. In most cases, Ss settled into 1 of the 4 boxes and built their nest. Most of the controls chose the silent compartment, whatever the sound delivered in the other boxes. An acoustic choice test was then carried out. Four groups of mice were exposed to a particular sound for 10 days: Group 1: Gestation Day 10 to birth; Group 2: birth to Day 10; Group 3: Day 10 to Day 20; Group 4: Day 20 to Day 30. Ss were then tested for box preference on Day 63 in the 4-box choice, one of which contained the sound of the earlier exposure. Ss stimulated before the 10th day after birth behaved in the same way as controls, whereas Ss stimulated between the 10th and the 20th days after birth exhibited a strong preference for the box delivering the sound of the previous treatment. This choice was significant, whatever the harmonic (Exp I) or impulsive (Exp II) nature of the sound. Ss stimulated between the 20th and the 30th days showed a preference for the silent box, but among the others, 75% chose the sound received during infancy. The behavior of Ss stimulated when adult was the same as that of the controls. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)