A Pavlovian analysis of food-attraction conditioning in the snail Helix aspersa

Abstract

Following brief pairing of an odor with a feeding experience (food- traction conditioning), snails will lower their tentacles when subsequently presented with that odor alone. Three experiments investigated the possible behavioral mechanism mediating food-attraction conditioning in the snail Helix aspersa. It is suggested that food-attraction conditioning is an example of Pavlovian conditioning. In this case, the odor (conditioned stimulus) is paired with oral stimulation (unconditioned stimulus), which elicits lowering of the tentacles (unconditioned response). Following conditioning, the odor comes to elicit lowering of the tentacles (conditioned response). Experiment I ruled out nonassociative effects, such as habituation and sensitization, using an unpaired control group. Experiment 2 provided further evidence against a role for habituation of neophobia, through the demonstration of extinction following conditioning. In Experiment 3, an omission procedure was used to rule out the possible role of instrumental contingencies.