scholarly journals Effects of Scopolamine on Conditioning of Lever Pressing

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Author(s):  
Yectivani Juárez ◽  
Gabriela González-Martín ◽  
Rodolfo Bernal-Gamboa ◽  
Rodrigo Carranza ◽  
Javier Nieto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Session ◽  
Instrumental Response ◽  
Lever Press ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Conditioning Session ◽  
Conditioning Context ◽  
Contextual Conditioning ◽  
Cholinergic Antagonist ◽  
Lever Pressing

The aim of this work was to determine the effects of scopolamine, a cholinergic antagonist, on the conditioning of an instrumental response and the contextual conditioning of this response. Five groups of rats were trained to lever-press on a Variable Interval 30 s schedule in context A. Scopolamine was administered 15 min before each conditioning session to AB 0.01 mg/kg, AB 0.10 mg/kg and AB 1.00 mg/kg groups. The AA Saline and AB Saline groups received saline injections.Contextual conditioning of the lever-pressing response was assessed in one extinction session. The AA group received this extinction session in the conditioning context (A), while the AB groups received this session in a different context (B). Results showed that scopolamine impaired the conditioning of the lever-pressing response but no effects on contextual conditioning were found.

The Effects of a Signal for free or for Earned Reward: Implications for the Role of Response-Reinforcer Associations in Instrumental Performance

1981 ◽  
Vol 33 (2b) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Hall ◽  
Stephen Channell ◽  
John M. Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Lever Press ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Free Food ◽  
Food Delivery ◽  
Instrumental Performance ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Light Flashes

Pearce and Hall (1978) investigated the effects of making a brief flash of light contingent upon response in rats lever-pressing for food on a variable-interval (VI) schedule. When this signal occurred in conjunction only with reinforced responses the response rate was lowered with respect to a condition in which an equal number of light flashes occurred uncorrelated with reinforcement. The experiments reported here compared these effects with those produced by signalling “free” food deliveries in a similar way. Experiments I and II compared the effects of presenting correlated and uncorrelated schedules of light and food to rats given no opportunity to lever-press. The different schedules did not produce differences in response rate when the levers were made available. In Experiment III, free food was delivered to rats responding on a VI schedule. Signalling the delivery of earned food pellets produced a low response rate in comparison with a condition in which the free pellets were signalled. It is concluded that signalling food delivery is effective only when the rat must respond to earn the food and it is argued that the signal has its effect by overshadowing a response-reinforcer association.

Lever-Pressing Performance for Brain Stimulation on F-I and V-I Schedules in a Single-Lever Situation

1970 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 699-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Brown ◽  
Jay A. Trowill
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Lever Press ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Fixed Interval ◽  
Schedule Of Reinforcement ◽  
Single Lever ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Stimulation Of

Rats were trained to lever press for electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) and ultimately were assigned to either a fixed interval 1 min. (FI-1 min.) or a variable interval 1 min. (VI-1 min.) schedule of reinforcement. All Ss easily attained and maintained responding on the schedule to which they had been assigned. Patterns of responding during training and extinction were similar to those observed when conventional rewards, such as food or water, are used. Fixed-interval Ss demonstrated scalloped responding; variable-interval Ss demonstrated steady rates of responding. The implications of these results for understanding ESB as a reward are discussed.

Post-Conditioning Devaluation of an Instrumental Reinforcer has no Effect on Extinction Performance

1980 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Taste Aversion ◽  
Instrumental Response ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
The Other ◽  
Extinction Performance ◽  
Instrumental Performance ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Current Value ◽  
Reinforcer Value

The extent to which a representation of the reinforcer controls an instrumental response can be assessed by studying the effect of post-conditioning changes in the reinforcer value. In the first experiment rats were trained to press a lever for sucrose pellets on a variable-interval (VI) schedule. The sucrose was subsequently devalued by pairing with Lithium Chloride (LiCl). This had no effect on lever pressing in extinction, although it profoundly reduced reacquisition responding and consumption. In Experiment II rats were trained to shuttle between the two distinctive chambers of a choice-box, in which lever pressing was reinforced in one chamber by sucrose and in the other chamber by food pellets programmed on independent VI schedules. A LiCl-induced taste-aversion was conditioned to the sucrose, and although this markedly affected reacquisition, extinction responding in the sucrose chamber and chamber preference were unaffected. These results indicate that instrumental performance can be independent of the current value of the reinforcer, and are discussed with reference to stimulus-response theory and second-order Pavlovian conditioning.

Sucrose Concentration as Reinforcement for Lever Pressing by Monkeys

1956 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald G. Conrad ◽  
Murray Sidman
Keyword(s):  
Food Deprivation ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Sucrose Concentration ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Variable Interval Schedule ◽  
Interval Schedule ◽  
Satiation Effect ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Lever Pressing

3 rhesus monkeys were given various concentrations of sucrose for lever pressing on a variable interval schedule of reinforcement. 7 sucrose concentrations were studied at 2 levels of food deprivation. The response rates accelerated rapidly with increasing concentrations, and then declined after reaching a maximum, generally between 15 and 30% sucrose concentration. The decline was attributed to a satiation effect. The higher level of food deprivation tended to increase the response rate at all but the extreme high and low concentrations.

Conditioned Suppression and Acceleration of Two Concurrent Responses in Rhesus Monkeys

1969 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendon W. Henton ◽  
Charles L. Salzberg ◽  
John J. Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Suppression ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Interval Training ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Unavoidable Shock ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Initial Variable ◽  
Rate Of Response ◽  
Conditioned Suppression Training

Two rhesus monkeys were exposed to conditioned suppression training in which a 20-sec. stimulus, terminated by unavoidable shock, was superimposed upon a variable interval 90-sec. reinforcement schedule. A concurrent response which had no programmed consequence was recorded during initial variable interval training, acquisition, extinction, and reacquisition of conditioned suppression of the reinforced lever-pressing response. A peak in the distribution of response 2 reliably occurred 30 to 75 sec. following the average lever-pressing (response 1) reinforcement interval. With suppression training, the presentation of the suppression stimulus was reliably followed by a changeover from response 1 to response 2; the presentation of the unavoidable shock immediately resulted in a changeover from response 2 to response 1. The rate of response 2 during the suppression stimulus declined to near zero during extinction of conditioned suppression and increased to a high rate when the suppression stimulus was again terminated by unavoidable shock. The rate of response 2 was dependent upon the intensity of the unavoidable shock.

scholarly journals Alcohol Dependence Differentially Alters Action and Outcome Related Orbitofrontal Cortex Activity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Cazares ◽  
Drew C. Schreiner ◽  
Christina M. Gremel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Lever Press ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Extracellular Recordings ◽  
Instrumental Task ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Outcome Devaluation

AbstractAlcohol dependence results in long-lasting deficits in decision-making and behavioral control. Neurobiological investigations have identified orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as important for value contributions to decision-making as well as action control, and alcohol dependence induces long-lasting changes to OFC function that persist into protracted withdrawal. However, it is unclear which contributing OFC computations are disrupted in alcohol dependence. Here, we combined a well-validated mouse model of alcohol dependence with in vivo extracellular recordings during an instrumental task in which lever press duration serves as the contingency, and lever pressing is sensitive to outcome devaluation. We found prior alcohol dependence did not impair use of duration contingency control but did reduce sensitivity to outcome devaluation. Further, alcohol dependence increased OFC activity associated with lever-pressing but decreased OFC activity during outcome-related epochs. Hence, alcohol dependence induces a long-lasting disruption to OFC function such that activity associated with actions is enhanced, but OFC activity in relation to outcomes is diminished. This has important implications for hypotheses regarding compulsive and habitual phenotypes observed in addiction.

scholarly journals Disruption of relapse to alcohol seeking by aversive counterconditioning following memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koral Goltseker ◽  
Hen Handrus ◽  
Segev Barak
Keyword(s):  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Lever Press ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Memory Reconsolidation ◽  
Place Conditioning ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Conditioning Paradigm ◽  
Cocaine Seeking ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Alcohol Seeking

AbstractRelapse to alcohol abuse is often caused by exposure to potent alcohol-associated cues. Therefore, disruption of the cue-alcohol memory can prevent relapse. It is believed that memories destabilize and become prone for updating upon their reactivation through retrieval, and then re-stabilize within 6 h during a “reconsolidation” process. We recently showed that relapse to cocaine seeking could be prevented by counterconditioning the cocaine-cues with aversive outcomes following cocaine-memory retrieval, in a place conditioning paradigm. However, to better model addiction-related behaviors, self-administration models are necessary. Here, we demonstrate that relapse to alcohol seeking can be prevented by aversive counterconditioning conducted during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, in conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant self-administration paradigms, in mice and rats, respectively. We found that the reinstatement of alcohol-CPP was abolished only when aversive counterconditioning with water-flooding was given shortly after alcohol-memory retrieval. Furthermore, rats trained to lever-press for alcohol showed decreased context-induced renewal of alcohol-seeking responding when the lever-pressing was counterconditioned with foot-shocks, shortly, but not 6 h, after memory retrieval. These results 0suggest that aversive counterconditioning can prevent relapse to alcohol seeking only when performed during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, presumably by updating, or replacing, the alcohol memory with aversive information. Also, we found that aversive counterconditioning preceded by alcohol-memory retrieval was characterized by upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) mRNA expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggesting that Bdnf plays a role in the memory updating process.

Duration of wheel-running reinforcement: Effects on reinforcement value and motivation in free-feeding and food-deprived rats.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Belke ◽  
W. David Pierce ◽  
Ian E. A. Cathart
Keyword(s):  
Wheel Running ◽  
Food Reinforcement ◽  
Variable Interval ◽  
Automatic Reinforcement ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Long Evans ◽  
Free Feeding ◽  
Reinforcement Value ◽  
Wheel Activity ◽  
Reinforcement Duration

Ten (pair housed) female Long-Evans rats were exposed to 5 s, 30 s, and 90 s wheel-running reinforcement durations on a response-initiated variable interval 20 s schedule as food deprivation was manipulated. On free feeding, never-deprived rats showed low wheel running and lever-pressing rates with long postreinforcement pauses (PRPs) for the 5-s reinforcement duration. Subsequently, when food deprived (Deprived 1), rats showed no effect of reinforcement duration on all measures. Under a second deprived condition (Deprived 2) with the rats maintained in single cages, there was no effect of housing (single vs. paired). When data from both deprivation assessments (Deprived 1 and Deprived 2) were combined, rats showed lower wheel running and overall lever-pressing rates with longer pauses on the 90-s duration compared to 30 s and 5 s bouts of wheel activity. The pattern of results challenges a reinforcement value interpretation, but is consistent with shifts in the motivational basis of wheel running. On free feeding, never-deprived rats were intrinsically motivated to run on wheels and operant lever-pressing was maintained at moderate rates by the automatic reinforcement of wheel running, except at the short reinforcement duration (5 s). When food deprived, motivation became food-related and rats showed high rates of lever pressing even at the shortest duration. The weak effects under initial deprivation (Deprived 1) raise questions about equivalence between wheel-running reinforcement duration and reinforcement magnitude using food reinforcement.

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