DOES KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESPONSE RULE DETERMINE HUMAN-PERFORMANCE ON AN ANIMAL TEST OF AMNESIA

Successful performance on delayed matching to sample (DMTS) is thought to require knowledge of the response rule and memory for the target stimuli. There is some uncertainty, however, over the relative importance of these 2 components in performance on DMTS. Therefore, alcohol-dependent individuals and normal controls were tested on a ''lists'' version of DMTS,where acquisition training and rule provision were manipulated in a factorial design. No acquisition effect was observed, but there was a modest effect of rule provision and a highly significant effect of list length. The results suggest that knowledge of the response rule does contribute to performance, but that memory for the stimuli over time is the major determinant of success on DMTS.