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PubMed1999

A Discrete Choice Model When Context Matters.

This paper contributes to the description of the choice behavior of an individual who, as a result of capacity limitations, is unable to deal with a large number of alternatives and who is also unsure about his most preferred alternative in any given set. Hence, there is a conflict in that the individual wants both to reduce the choice set and to keep as many alternatives as possible. A natural way to solve this conflict is to view the individual as choosing sequentially while giving a weight to each corresponding subset of alternatives. We assume that the weights are defined by Choquet capacities which are independent of the path followed in the choice process. These choice capacities are obtained from a utility defined on the power set of alternatives. This implies that the context, identified as the opportunity set, influences the choice made by the individual. However, the choice capacities are not observable. It is shown that they can be converted into probabilities which have intuitive and appealing properties. In particular, using these probabilities allows for a sensible solution to the blue bus-red bus paradox when the individual has a natural preference for flexibility. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Differential correlation of frontal and parietal activity with the number of alternatives for cued choice saccades.

The time taken to choose a response appropriate for a cue increases with the number of potential response options (Hick's law). We used this temporal constraint of choice behavior in event-related fMRI experiments to identify brain areas carrying out the translation from a cue stimulus to response: Since the process takes longer with more alternatives, the activity of the areas would increase in correlation with the number of alternatives (NA) available at the time of choice decision. During a choice saccade task in which one target is selected among many alternatives based on the color of a cue in the center, the frontal eye fields (FEF) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were activated. Within these regions, signals were correlated with NA at the medial part of the FEF and the posterior part of the IPS, but not at the lateral FEF and anterior IPS. This suggests a functional differentiation within each cortical region. Furthermore, given the separate fronto-parietal projections linking sub-regions that are alike in NA-correlation, cognitive steps for choice decision may occur in different networks of the sub-regions: i.e., the stimulus-response translation step in a network of the posterior IPS and medial FEF, and response execution in the anterior IPS/lateral FEF network.

Adult↗

PubMed2007

Delay aversion: effects of 7-OH-DPAT, 5-HT1A/1B-receptor stimulation and D-cycloserine.

Impulsive individuals often display an aversion to waiting for rewards. Delay aversion can be quantified in rats in a delayed reward task, in which animals choose between an immediately available, small reward, and a large reward available after a delay. In previous research conducted at our laboratory and in literature, positive correlations between delay aversion and aggression, substance abuse and persistence during extinction of conditioned responses were found. The correlations suggest a possible shared pharmacology. Therefore, we tested drugs with known effects on these behaviors for possible effects on delay aversion: the dopamine D(3)-receptor agonist 7-OH-DPAT, the 5-HT(1A)-receptor agonist flesinoxan, the 5HT(1A/1B)-receptor agonist eltoprazine, and the NMDA-receptor agonist d-cycloserine. The results show that 7-OH-DPAT slightly decreased choice for the large reward. Flesinoxan disrupted task execution by lowering choice for the large reward even at a delay of 0 s. Eltoprazine slightly increased choice for the large reward, but the 5-HT(1B)-antagonist GR127935 had no effect. Administration of D-cycloserine also had no effect on choice behavior. The data suggest the dopamine D(3)-receptor and the 5-HT(1B)-receptor are interesting targets for treating delay aversion impulsivity. These targets were correctly predicted by the positive correlation between delay aversion and aggressive behavior and the intimate links between delay aversion and substance abuse disorders.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

Factors related to the adoption of exercise among older women.

The role of exercise in promoting health is well documented; however, older women have the lowest rates of aerobic exercise of any community group. This paper examines psychological variables relevant to women's initial adoption of exercise. While the evidence is limited, it appears that middle-aged and older women have positive attitudes to exercise but seem unable or unwilling to take action. The influence of practical barriers and of broader social attitudes is considered. It is concluded that social psychological variables have had limited success in explaining sex differences in physical activity. An understanding of practical and societal constraints on behavior choice in a broader social context may provide direction for the development of strategies to improve the exercise levels of this community group.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The influence of race and gender on health promoting behavior determinants of southern "at-risk" adolescents.

This article discusses the influence of race and gender on health promoting behavior determinants of "at-risk" adolescents living in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Self perception is an essential component in the likelihood to engage in a health promoting behavior lifestyle. There are differences in perceptual determinants according to race and gender. Identification in areas of difference is crucial to the development of intervention programs that meet students where they are while empowering them to make informed lifestyle behavior choices. Adolescents perceive themselves to have high levels of self-esteem. The challenge is to identify ways to enhance their self-efficacy and levels of hope.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Enadoline and butorphanol: evaluation of kappa-agonists on cocaine pharmacodynamics and cocaine self-administration in humans.

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that kappa-opioid agonists can attenuate the neurochemical and behavioral effects of cocaine that are related to its reinforcing efficacy, suggesting that kappa-agonists may serve as pharmacotherapies for cocaine dependence. This 8-week inpatient study examined the ability of enadoline, a selective and high-efficacy kappa-agonist, and butorphanol, a mixed agonist with intermediate efficacy at both mu- and kappa-receptors, to reduce the direct pharmacodynamic effects and self-administration of intravenous cocaine in humans (n = 8). Acute doses of intramuscular enadoline (20, 40, and 80 microg/kg), butorphanol (1.5, 3, and 6 mg/70 kg) and placebo were examined separately as pretreatments during each of three test sessions with cocaine in a constrained random order. A cocaine dose-effect session (0, 20, and 40 mg cocaine i.v., 1 h apart) examined direct pharmacodynamic interactions on subjective and physiological indices; self-administration sessions examined choice behavior for cocaine (40 mg i.v. for six trials) versus money 1) in the presence of a sample cocaine dose with money choices presented in ascending value, and 2) in the absence of a sample dose with money choices presented in descending values. Enadoline (80 microg/70 kg) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced some of the positive subjective effects of cocaine (e.g., ratings of "high"), while butorphanol failed to modify subjective responses. Both agents were safely tolerated in combination with cocaine without adverse physiological responses. Cocaine self-administration was significantly greater across all pretreatment conditions when the sample dose was given and ascending money choices were used. Enadoline and butorphanol failed to modify cocaine self-administration. These data suggest that these kappa-agonists may be safely administered in the presence of cocaine but do not produce significant attenuation of cocaine's direct effects or self-administration under these acute dosing conditions.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Preference for control and the coronary-prone behavior pattern: "I'd rather do it myself".

We explored differential preference for control among Type A and Type B individuals. Forty-six subjects were threatened with an aversive event (loud noise) and were allowed to choose whether to turn off the noise themselves or to yield control to another (more competent) individual. The results showed that Type B subjects (regardless of sex) tended to relinquish control to their more competent confederates and thus reduce the aversive stimulus, whereas the choice behavior of Type As was less clear. In addition, although female subjects tended to yield control, male subjects were more inclined to retain it. Because the willingness to yield control in general appears to be stronger in women than in men, the behavior observed in Type As may be partly moderated by the subject's sex. Although there were suggestive trends in the data, the central psychological features of the Type A pattern remain ambiguous and await studies in which researchers explore these effects, using a variety of situations and larger sample sizes.

Arousal↗

PubMed1979

Evidence supporting lack of discriminative stimulus properties of a combination of naltrexone and morphine.

The aim of the present experiment was to study the potentially discriminable effects of combinations of morphine and naltrexone during long-term treatment. Three groups of gerbils had to discriminate the effects of morphine (12 mg/kg) and those of either saline (4 ml/kg), naltrexone (2 mg/kg), or a combination of this dose of morphine plus naltrexone injected IP 60 min prior to the start of the discriminative training in a T-shaped maze. Rapid development of drug discriminative control of choice behavior (left or right turn in the maze) was evident in these 3 groups which is in marked contrast to the performance of gerbils trained with morphine-naltrexone combination vs. saline or gerbils trained with naltrexone only vs. saline. Neither of these latter groups reached the criterion of performing 8 correct first-trial choices in 10 consecutive training sessions during the 60 training sessions allowed, while the 3 other groups began their criterion performance after only 7--8 training sessions. Thus the discriminative properties of certain combinations of morphine and naltrexone are weak and therfore are not easily discriminable from the effects induced by saline.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Nucleus accumbens dopamine and the regulation of effort in food-seeking behavior: implications for studies of natural motivation, psychiatry, and drug abuse.

For several decades, it has been suggested that dopamine (DA), especially in nucleus accumbens, mediates the primary reinforcing characteristics of natural stimuli such as food, as well as drugs of abuse. Yet, several fundamental aspects of primary food reinforcement, motivation, and appetite are left intact after interference with accumbens DA transmission. Recent studies have shown that accumbens DA is involved in responsiveness to conditioned stimuli and activational aspects of motivation. In concurrent choice tasks, accumbens DA depletions cause animals to reallocate their choice behavior in the direction of instrumental behaviors that involve less effort. Also, an emerging body of evidence has demonstrated that the effects of accumbens DA depletions on instrumental food-seeking behavior can vary greatly depending upon the task. For example, some schedules of reinforcement are insensitive to the effects of DA depletions, whereas others are highly sensitive (e.g., large fixed ratios). Accumbens DA depletions slow the rate of operant responding, blunt the rate-facilitating effects of moderate-sized ratios, and enhance the rate-suppressing effects of very large ratios (i.e., produce ratio strain). Accumbens DA may be important for enabling rats to overcome behavioral constraints, such as work-related response costs, and may be critical for the behavioral organization and conditioning processes that enable animals to engage in vigorous responses, such as barrier climbing, or to emit large numbers of responses in ratio schedules in the absence of primary reinforcement. The involvement of accumbens DA in activational aspects of motivation has implications for energy-related disorders in psychiatry, as well as aspects of drug-seeking behavior.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

The carrot, not the stick: appetitive rather than aversive gustatory stimuli support associative olfactory learning in individually assayed Drosophila larvae.

The ability to learn is universal among animals; we investigate associative learning between odors and "tastants" in larval Drosophila melanogaster. As biologically important gustatory stimuli, like sugars, salts, or bitter substances have many behavioral functions, we investigate not only their reinforcing function, but also their response-modulating and response-releasing function. Concerning the response-releasing function, larvae are attracted by fructose and repelled by sodium chloride and quinine; also, fructose increases, but salt and quinine suppress feeding. However, none of these stimuli has a nonassociative, modulatory effect on olfactory choice behavior. Finally, only fructose but neither salt nor quinine has a reinforcing effect in associative olfactory learning. This implies that the response-releasing, response-modulating and reinforcing functions of these tastants are dissociated on the behavioral level. These results open the door to analyze how this dissociation is brought about on the cellular and molecular level; this should be facilitated by the cellular simplicity and genetic accessibility of the Drosophila larva.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Behavioral consequences of consumer dissatisfaction with medical care.

The effects of consumer dissatisfaction with doctors and medical care services on intentions to seek care and subsequent behavior were estimated using data from four general population studies. Satisfaction was linked to reported intentions regarding care-seeking behavior (choices between self-care and seeking care from a regular doctor or emergency room) in response to both minor and serious medical problems. These results were replicated in two populations with diverse sociodemographic characteristics. Satisfaction scales also predicted subsequent changes in medical care providers and disenrollments from prepaid health plans independent field tests. These results suggest that the behavioral consequences of individual differences in satisfaction with doctors and health care services are noteworthy from both clinical and social perspectives.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed1980

Temporal response characteristics of cells in monkey striate cortex measured with metacontrast masking and brightness discrimination.

After measuring metacontrast masking psychophysically in two monkeys, recordings from parafoveal striate cortex of the monkeys were made while they performed a simultaneous brightness discrimination and while they judged the apparent brightness of a stimulus masked by metacontrast. The size and orientation of the stimuli were held constant regardless of receptive field parameters. In both tasks, the single-cell activity immediately following the presentation of flashed discrimination stimuli reflected only stimulus parameters, and was independent of the monkey's behavioral choice. Later activity (up to 400 msec post-stimulus) was significantly greater if the monkey was about to press the correct panel in the discrimination, or if he pressed the unmasked side (with greater apparent brightness but identical intensity) in the masking paradigm. One quarter of the cells showed a change in firing rate during the 250 msec preceding the behavioral response, though the difference in overall firing level between correct and incorrect brightness discrimination trials was diminished in this epoch, and the corresponding firing difference in metacontrast trials was not significant. The temporal pattern of firing also differed between correct and incorrect trials in the pre-response interval. The results suggest an iterative or recurrent coding of visual information, where the same cells participate in early, late, preresponse coding in different ways.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Mechanism of tolerance development to 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine in rats: down-regulation of the 5-HT2A, but not 5-HT2C, receptor.

RATIONALE: Defining the mechanism of tolerance development to hallucinogenic drugs will help to explain their mechanism of action. OBJECTIVES: The present study was conducted to determine first, if tolerance develops to the discriminative stimulus (DS) properties of the hallucinogen, 2,5 dimethoxy-4-iodo-amphetamine (DOI) and second, the mechanism mediating tolerance. METHODS: Rats were trained to discriminate 0.75 mg/kg DOI from saline on a concurrent VI-30-min schedule of reinforcement with a 15-min time-out for incorrect responses. To evaluate tolerance development, rats were assigned to one of four groups and treated with either chronic saline or chronic DOI. Prior to chronic treatment, two groups were tested for choice behavior following vehicle administration while the remaining two groups were tested following the administration of 0.375 mg/kg DOI. One group from each pre-test condition was injected with either saline or DOI (1 mg/kg) for 8 days. Twenty-four hours after the last chronic injection the pre-test treatments were replicated. Using receptor autoradiography, the density of 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors was measured in independent groups of rats that had received identical treatment conditions. RESULTS: Animals receiving chronic DOI showed a 60% decrease in DOI lever responding (from 100% to 40%) when tested on 0.375 mg/kg DOI, while animals receiving chronic saline showed no change in percent choice (100%) on the DOI lever. Significant changes in binding were observed in 5-HT2A receptors but not 5-HT2C receptors. The results of tests with antagonists were consistent with the changes in binding. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that behavioral tolerance to DOI reflects neuroadaptive changes in 5-HT2A receptors.

Amphetamines↗

PubMed1980

Apomorphine: effects on the timing and sequencing of pecking behavior in chicks.

Stereotyped behavior induced by apomorphine is thought to be "autistic", that is, impervious to environmental influence. This assumption is tested by analyzing the patterning of pecks at two differently colored stimuli in three-day old chicks treated with either 0.3 mg-kg-1 or 0.4 mg-kg-1 apomorphine. While normal chicks strongly prefer one stimulus over the other, apomorphine appears to render the choice behavior of chicks insensitive to differences between the stimuli. This result might suggest that apomorphine-treated chicks no longer perceive differences between the stimuli, but an analysis of the timing of pecks reveals that differences are still perceived since the two stimuli elicit different rates of pecking.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Discriminative stimulus properties and schedule effects of fencamfamine in rats.

The behavioral properties of fencamfamine, a sympathomimetic central stimulant recently identified in alleged cocaine samples, were studied in two different paradigms. In Experiment I, rats were trained to discriminate between injections of saline (0.1 ml/kg, IP) and cocaine (3.0 mg/kg, IP) in a two-lever drug discrimination task on a fixed-ratio (FR) 10 schedule of water presentation. Fencamfamine (0.3-3.0 mg/kg, IP) produced cocaine-appropriate choice behavior and was slightly more potent than cocaine in producing this effect. In Experiment II, rats responded under a multiple fixed-interval (FI) 300 sec, FR 20 schedule of water presentation. Fencamfamine (0.1-10.0 mg/kg, IP) and cocaine (0.1-30.0 mg/kg, IP) produced qualitatively similar effects on responding under this schedule. With increasing doses of either drug, FI responses rates first increased, then decreased; FR response rates were only decreased. Fencamfamine was approximately three times more potent than cocaine in producing these effects. The results of these two experiments indicate that fencamfamine and cocaine have similar behavioral properties.

Amphetamine↗

PubMed1991

Adult partner preference and sexual behavior of male rats affected by perinatal endocrine manipulations.

Intact adult male rats, in which aromatization of testosterone to estradiol was prevented pre- and/or neonatally by ATD (1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione), were repeatedly tested for partner preference behavior (choice: estrous female vs active male). In consecutive tests increasing preference scores for the female were found. Neonatal ATD males showed significantly lower preference scores for an estrous female than controls or prenatal ATD males. Prenatal ATD caused preference scores only slightly lower than those of controls. Ejaculation frequencies were markedly reduced or even absent in neonatal ATD males. Prenatal ATD treatment only had no or a moderately lowering effect on ejaculation frequency. Lordosis behavior of adult intact males was more facilitated following neonatal ATD treatment than following prenatal ATD treatment. In a number of tests the serotonergic drug 8-OH-DPAT was injected prior to testing for sexual partner preference and copulatory behavior. DPAT significantly increased preference for an estrous female in all groups of males when interaction was possible, but had no effect when sexual interaction was prevented by wire mesh. DPAT was able to increase the number of ejaculators in nonejaculating groups (i.e., perinatally ATD-treated males). "Premature ejaculations," i.e., ejaculations with the first intromission, were frequently observed with DPAT treatment in all groups of males. In conclusion, the availability of neonatal estrogen (derived from testosterone) organizes, at least partially, the preference for an estrous female normally shown by adult male rats. The lack of neonatal estrogen causes males to be less masculinized, both in partner preference behavior and ejaculatory behavior, and less defeminized in lordosis behavior.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Color constancy in goldfish: the limits.

Color constancy was investigated in behavioral training experiments on colors ranging from blue to yellow, located in the color space close to Planck's locus representing the main changes in natural skylight. Two individual goldfish were trained to peck at a test field of medium hue out of a series of 13-15 yellowish and bluish test fields presented simultaneously on a black background. During training the tank in which the fish were swimming freely was illuminated with white light. Correct choices were rewarded with food. During the tests differently saturated yellow or blue illumination was used. The degree of color constancy was inferred from the choice behavior under these illuminations. Perfect color constancy was found up to a certain degree of saturation of the colored light. Beyond this level test fields other than the training test field were chosen, indicating imperfect color constancy. Color constancy was quantified by applying color metrics on the basis of the goldfish cone sensitivity functions.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Spatial memory and instrumental conditioning.

Short-term spatial memory of rats was studied in a 12-arm radial tubular maze. Correct performance does not depend on maze structure which affects, however, the rats trajectory through the maze. Rats overtrained in the 12-arm radial maze show considerable transfer of the habit to a maze consisting of 12 parallel alleys entered from a common choice area. When isolated maze channels equipped with one way doors on both ends are randomly scattered over an enclosed area of 2 square meters the rats are capable of visiting them sequentially, even when they encounter this particular configuration for the first time. Rats which were allowed 6 choices in the 12-arm radial maze and were then transferred to linear configuration of the same maze channels do not show significant preference for the yet unvisited channels. This indicates that in absence of spatial cues other sensory properties of the different channels cannot guide the choice behavior of the animal. An essential prerequisite of spatial memory tests is elimination of cues which would allow direct sensory location of the baited alleys. Smelling the food hidden in the food-cups may significantly improve the rats performance unless the maze channels are saturated with food odor. It is concluded that a prerequisite for the striking performance of rats in the tasks of the above type is their thorough familiarization with the list of choices. The spatial location of an item is an important cue for the recognition of the choices already made.

Animals↗