EN
Summary The processes related to memory and motivation are necessary for the preservation of the animal's integrity. This review describes behavioral investigations concerning the role of some deprivations in early infancy on the development of memory and motivation in cats. The emphasis of this review is on the influence of (i) lab-rearing conditions and/or vi sual deprivation on the performance of the de layed response, and (ii) total deprivation of the taste of food on a simple discrimination lear ning for food reward. Special attention is paid to the influence of the early deprivation of a variety of food tastes on later food preferences; the results are presented in a broader investigative context in that they include behavioral data obtained both on precocial and altricial species. The contradiction between the primacy effect and the novelty effect is described, and there is an attempt to explain these contradictory or alternative effects on the basis of the latest discoveries. The utility of instrumental conditioning for food reward is presented as an important means to gain a better understanding of the behavioral aspect of development of food preferences.