Summation of latent inhibition and overshadowing in a generalized bait shyness paradigm of rats.

This paper reports a single experiment using four groups of rats. A group of thirsty rats showed aversion to sodium chloride (NaCl) solution in testing after drinking lithium chloride (LiCl) solution, demonstrating generalized bait shyness due to the common “salty” taste. The other two groups of rats were treated identically except that the rats were either exposed to NaCl solution prior to drinking the LiCl solution or allowed to drink LiCl–sucrose solution instead of the LiCl solution. The weaker salt aversion observed in these groups indicates latent inhibition and overshadowing, respectively. The rats in the fourth group were preexposed to NaCl and allowed to drink the LiCl–sucrose solution. The weakest salt aversion in this group suggests summation of latent inhibition and overshadowing effects.