Autoshaping and food acquisition in mice: A genetic analysis.

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Abstract
A genetic analysis was undertaken for a number of quantitative behavioral characters that may be components in a generalized feeding pattern. These measures included open-field activity, rate of food ingestion, and rate of development of an autoshaped operant response. Four strains of inbred laboratory mice were used as subjects in a diallel cross design. Standard analytical procedures, including the Hayman analysis of variance and the Jinks variance-covariance diagram, were used to interpret the data. The results were evaluated in terms of the contribution to fitness provided by each of the measured characters. The various open-field measures and the food-consumption measure were of some importance in the evolutionary history of the mouse. The autoshaping measures showed a pattern of inheritance that differed from the other measures and offered no clear interpretation of their evolutionary significance.

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