Ontogeny of Spontaneous Alternation Behavior

Abstract

Spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) changes dramatically with postnatal development. It is impossible to discuss this relationship without paying tribute to the work of Robert J. Douglas, who has not only contributed some of the most significant studies of this relationship, but also published, almost 15 years ago, an excellent review and analysis of it in relation to the development of the hippocampus (Douglas, 1975). One feature of Douglas’s review was consideration of several experiments that assessed age-related differences in SAB among human children. It is useful at this point to emphasize two lessons these studies provide us; the first of these requires substantial elaboration, but the second lesson need be described only briefly.