Just as Pavlov's dog learned to associate the sound of a bell ringing with dinnertime, rats can learn to associate flashes of light with how long they must wait to receive a sip of water.

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Ask for a harbour mountain-view room and you can watch seaplanes take off from Coal Harbour or see the first streaks of light hit the snow-capped North Shore mountains as you sip your morning coffee.

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They taught the rats to choose the active light source by poking their noses into a port to receive a sip of water as a reward.

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