Micro- and macrostructure of learning in active avoidance: a quantitative approach.

The dynamics of learning in the Active Avoidance test was analyzed at the trials level as well as at the level of daily sessions, each comprising numerous trials. The two scales (large scale for the sessions and small scale for the trials) were demonstrated to be mutually independent. The intermediate derived scales (blocks of trials) were found consistent among themselves and with small scale but independent of the large one. Moreover, the two extreme scales were kinetically discriminable. These results point to the existence of two independent mechanisms for large and small scale learning together with the need to postulate a consolidation process during the rest period.