Differential generalization of habituation across contexts as a function of stimulus significance

Orienting to one of two levels of stimulus significance (a distress squeal or a simulated mimic squeal) in female hooded rats was measured by suppression of ongoing drinking. Subsequent generalization tests with the same stimulus presented in different contexts showed that generalization of habituation across contexts was a function of stimulus significance: Habituation to the distress squeal was restricted to the context in which it first had been presented, whereas habituation to the mimic squeal generalized across the different contexts.