Relative discriminability of sugars for the rat

Obtained relative discriminability scales, for 9 male hooded rats, for 6 common sugars by using a method in which the discriminative rather than the reinforcing properties of the stimuli are utilized. The order of effectiveness for these sugars is sucrose = maltose > fructose > glucose = lactose > galactose. Comparisons with reinforcement and preference studies suggest that for glucose and sucrose the relationship between concentration and reinforcement can be broken down into 2 parts: discriminability vs. concentration where the functions differ for the 2 sugars, and reinforcement vs. discriminability where the function is the same for both sugars.