Attenuation of latent inhibition by post-acquisition reminder

Using lick suppression by water-deprived rats as an associative index, white noise-footshock pairings resulted in less manifest conditioning when repeated nonreinforced presentations of the white noise preceded conditioning than when no stimulus preexposure was given, i.e., latent inhibition was observed. However, the latent inhibition deficit was reduced in animals who received as a reminder treatment shock-alone presentations in another context during the retention interval. Animals conditioned without prior stimulus preexposure and those exposed to the white noise and shock unpaired during the conditioning phase of the study showed no change in lick suppression as a result of the reminder treatment. These results suggest that the behavioural deficit produced by nonreinforced preexposure to the to-be-conditioned stimulus arises at least in part from a reversible retrieval failure rather than a lack of acquisition.