Latent inhibition (LI), operationally defined as the reduced conditioned response to a stimulus that has
been preexposed before conditioning, seems to be determined by the interaction of different processes
that includes attentional, associative, memory, motivational, and emotional factors. In this paper we
focused on the role of deprivation level on LI intensity using an auditory fear conditioning procedure
with rats. LI was observed when the animals were non-deprived, but it was disrupted when the rats
were water- or food-deprived. We propose that deprivation induced an increase in attention to the tobe-CS,
and, as a result, LI was disrupted in deprived animals. The implications ofthe results for the current
interpretations of LI are also discussed.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2012-3207
