RADIATION-CONDITIONED BEHAVIOR 



687 



EXPOSED 



EXPOSED 



SHAM EXPOSED 



SHAM EXPOSED 



EXPOSED 



EXPOSED 



SHAM EXPOSED 



SHAM EXPOSED 



FREE CHOICE 

 Fig. 1. Schematic design for spatial avoidance conditioning. 



in that portion of an alley which is exposed to radiation than in the shielded 

 end. Andrews and Cameron (1960) demonstrated similar avoidance 

 behavior in the mouse. 



The search for sensory avenues through which radiation might operate as 

 a stimulus has been undertaken (Table V). It is known that under certain 

 conditions ionizing radiation can act as a visual stimulus through a phos- 

 phene effect (Lipetz, 1955) ; however, we fovmd that a radiation-conditioned 

 aversion to saccharin can be established in bilaterally ophthalmectomized 

 rats (Garcia and Kimeldorf, 1958). It is doubtful that olfactory stimuli 

 associated with radiation exposure lead to conditioned aversive behavior, 

 since the control groups in several saccharin conditioning studies were sham 

 irradiated in the exposure field behind lead shields. Arbit (1959a) was 

 unable to demonstrate spatial avoidance conditioning in sham exposed 

 animals subjected to possible odor cues accompanying radiation exposure. 



