Dependence of the Overtraining Extinction Effect on Attention to Runway Cues

Abstract

Six groups of rats were given 60 extinction trials in a runway following 30, 90 or 120 acquisition trials. For half the groups, a hurdle was interposed in the runway during both acquisition and extinction. For rats tested with the hurdle, the 30-trial group extinguished more readily than the other two groups. With the hurdle absent, overtrained rats extinguished more readily. This was interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that overtraining transfers control of responding from external to internal cues, and that internally controlled running is relatively more susceptible to extinction.