We were interested in the dependence of learning performance on the strength of reinforcement. To manipulate US intensity we increased the voltage running the microscope lamp that generates the heat beam in the flight simulator setup in 1V steps from 3V to 6V.

A) Orange bars depict mean performance indices during training and yellow bars depict mean learning indices. B) The learning to avoidance ratio remains constant over increasing US intensities. This might indicate a common dependence of avoidance and learning on reinforcement. C) We estimated the amount of energy uptake of the fly by multiplying the time the fly spent in the heat beam with the temperature measured at the focus of the beam after 10s of heating.