Facilitative effects of cross-modality training on recovery of a conditioned avoidance response following striate cortex ablations in the rat.

Two experiments with visual decorticate rats examined the effects of cross-modality transfer on the recovery of a preoperatively learned avoidance task using high intensity light cues. In both experiments, brief postoperative cross-modality training with high intensity noise cues produced significantly better recovery of the visual avoidance response than either reversed intensity noise training or retraining with the original task. Training with a reversed intensity visual cue produced relearning deficits. In the second experiment, control conditions eliminated re-exposure to the test environment, the shock-response relationship, and compound conditioning as possible explanations for these findings. These results indicated that rats are capable of cross-modality transfer after posterior cortical lesions and that this transfer effect can facilitate recovery of behavioral function. The clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.