Parameters of Reward for Mongolian Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)

This experimental investigation was designed to test which of four rewards would elicit the fastest and most consistent running speeds from Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). The four rewards were: Purina Lab Chow, .045 grams Noyes Precision Pellets, Sunflower seeds, and Hamster feed. Twenty-four male gerbils (90-120 days old) were randomly assigned to a deprivation group (D) and trained in a straight alley runway under a restricted ration deprivation schedule for 70 acquisition and 35 extinction trials. A second group of 24 subjects (non deprived group, ND) were similarly trained while on a free feed schedule. Each group was further divided into four sub-groups differentiated on the basis of type of reward. The sub-groups were divided into two squads with Squad 2 starting acquisition trials the day following the last extinction trial of Squad 1. A multi-factor analysis of variance was computed for acquisition and extinction training. The results indicate a significant deprivation and trials effect (p\u3e .05)