Response suppression produced by vestibular stimulation in the rat.

Seven rats pressed a lever for food on different schedules. While they worked, the cage slowly spun. The spin speed went up in steps. The team watched how spinning changed the rats' pressing.

The spin acted like a strong vestibular stimulus. Think of a kid getting dizzy on a merry-go-round. The study asked: does motion sickness stop learned behavior?

Faster spinning cut pressing to almost zero. The drop was smooth and quick. Different schedules showed different pause patterns, but all showed suppression.

When the spinning stopped, pressing came back. The effect was reliable across all seven animals.

BOLLEHOFFMAN et al. (1964) saw the same total shutdown, but they used fear instead of spinning. Both studies prove that strong outside events can pause schedule-controlled behavior.

Hake et al. (1969) got the same pause by simply making the feedback light stay on longer. Together these papers show many roads lead to response suppression.

PREMACK et al. (1963) looks opposite at first glance. They trained rats to freeze and found drugs that broke the freeze. Yet both labs measured how outside forces start or stop behavior, linking motion, fear, and immobility under the ABA fundamentals roof.

You now have a clean animal model for motion-related avoidance. If a client gags in the car or refuses to swing, vestibular stimulation may be the trigger. Test gradual exposure, measure response rates, and watch for schedule effects just like these rats. The data remind you that strong sensory input can override reinforcement—so pair new motion with strong reinforcers and go slow.