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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/11375/9476
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dc.contributor.advisorBennett G. Galef, Jr.en_US
dc.contributor.authorWigmore, Stephen W.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-18T16:47:16Z-
dc.date.available2014-06-18T16:47:16Z-
dc.date.created2011-06-07en_US
dc.date.issued1982en_US
dc.identifier.otheropendissertations/4597en_US
dc.identifier.other5615en_US
dc.identifier.other2049703en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11375/9476-
dc.description.abstract<p>The present research investigates whether information concerning distant foods can be exchanged by domestic rats at a central site. Experiments were designed to model a natural situation in which a successful forager ("demonstrator" rat) returns to the burrow (home cage) and interacts briefly with a fellow colony member ("observer" rat).<br />Information transfer was demonstrated, as observers exhibited a marked preference for the food that their demonstrators had eaten.</p> <p>A series of experiments designed to analyze the means of information exchange demonstrated that communication was mediated by olfactory cues. Active communication regarding the demonstrator's feeding success proved unnecessary for effective information transfer between demonstrators and observers.</p> <p>Finally, observers exposed to poisoned demonstrators during the interaction period, nevertheless exhibited a preference for the food that their demonstrators had eaten. This result suggested that observers had failed to associate olfactory cues regarding the food with their demonstrators' illness.</p>en_US
dc.subjectPsychologyen_US
dc.subjectPsychologyen_US
dc.titleOlfactory Communication in Rats: A Mechanism for Information Centre Functioningen_US
dc.typethesisen_US
dc.contributor.departmentPsychologyen_US
dc.description.degreeMaster of Arts (MA)en_US
Appears in Collections:Open Access Dissertations and Theses

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