In VitroAnalog of Operant Conditioning inAplysia. I. Contingent Reinforcement Modifies the Functional Dynamics of an Identified Neuron

This study was designed to determine the influence of partial reinforcement upon the rate of emission of unelicited GSRs. 90 college students were divided into 2 groups with respect to delivery of visual reinforcement, Contingent (C) and Noncontingent (NC). The Contingent group was divided further into 3 subgroups, each of which received a different schedule of partial reinforcement; each contingent group had a yoked Noncontingent control. The over-all rate of responding was greater during Contingent reinforcement than Noncontingent reinforcement. Among the Contingent groups the effect of partial reinforcement was maximal during the initial minute of acquisition and the initial minutes of extinction. During the extinction period the Contingent and the Noncontingent groups tended to converge. A no-stimulation control group showed fairly steady responding during the last 32 min.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Classical and operant conditioning differentially modify the intrinsic properties of an identified neuron.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.1033388.375861 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Martin Giurfa

Keyword(s):

Operant Conditioning ◽

Intrinsic Properties ◽

Identified Neuron

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Dopaminergic Synapses Mediate Neuronal Changes in an Analogue of Operant Conditioning

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1999.81.4.1983 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 1983-1987 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

R. Nargeot ◽

D. A. Baxter ◽

G. W. Patterson ◽

J. H. Byrne

Keyword(s):

Feeding Behavior ◽

Operant Conditioning ◽

Dopamine Antagonist ◽

Synaptic Connections ◽

Contingent Reinforcement ◽

Motor Patterns ◽

Buccal Ganglia ◽

Stimulation Of

Dopaminergic synapses mediate neuronal changes in an analogue of operant conditioning. Feeding behavior in Aplysiacan be modified by operant conditioning in which contingent reinforcement is conveyed by the esophageal nerve (E n.). A neuronal analogue of this conditioning in the isolated buccal ganglia was developed by using stimulation of E n. as an analogue of contingent reinforcement. Previous studies indicated that E n. may release dopamine. We used a dopamine antagonist (methylergonovine) to investigate whether dopamine mediated the enhancement of motor patterns in the analogue of operant conditioning. Methylergonovine blocked synaptic connections from the reinforcement pathway and the contingent-dependent enhancement of the reinforced pattern. These results suggest that dopamine mediates at least part of the neuronal modifications induced by contingent reinforcement.

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Reinforcement of Verbal Social Behavior in Moderately Retarded Children

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1968.23.2.371 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 371-376 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Robert F. McClure

Keyword(s):

Social Behavior ◽

Operant Conditioning ◽

Reinforcement Contingency ◽

Contingent Reinforcement ◽

Verbal Instructions ◽

Social Responding

Operant conditioning techniques were used to study talking behavior of retarded peers. A design using concurrent verbal and nonverbal operants was devised to test several hypotheses. Verbal social responding increased in a group with contingent reinforcement and verbal instructions about the reinforcement contingency but not in groups with either condition alone.

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Classical and operant conditioning differentially modify the intrinsic properties of an identified neuron

Nature Neuroscience ◽

10.1038/nn1593 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 17-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Fred D Lorenzetti ◽

Riccardo Mozzachiodi ◽

Douglas A Baxter ◽

John H Byrne

Keyword(s):

Operant Conditioning ◽

Intrinsic Properties ◽

Identified Neuron

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Response and Reinforcement in Operant Audiometry

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.5203.294 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 294-299 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Michael A. Primus

Keyword(s):

Operant Conditioning ◽

Space Versus ◽

Visual Space ◽

Central Processing ◽

Operant Discrimination ◽

Conditioning Rate ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Simple Detection ◽

Variable Success ◽

Response Task

Variable success in audiometric assessment of young children with operant conditioning indicates the need for systematic examination of commonly employed techniques. The current study investigated response and reinforcement features of two operant discrimination paradigms with normal I7-month-old children. Findings indicated more responses prior to the onset of habituation when the response task was based on complex central processing skills (localization and coordination of auditory/visual space) versus simple detection. Use of animation in toy reinforcers resulted in more than a twofold increase in the number of subject responses. Results showed no significant difference in response conditioning rate or consistency for the response tasks and forms of reinforcement examined.

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