Re-examining the ontogeny of the context preexposure facilitation effect in the rat through multiple dependent variables

The capability to acquire context conditioning does not emerge until weaning, at least when the defining features of the context lack explicit and salient olfactory cues. Contextual learning deficits in preweanling rats have been associated with functional immaturity of the dorsal hippocampus. According to recent studies, the so-called context preexposure facilitation effect (CPFE) – a hippocampus-dependent effect – is not observed until...