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PubMed1997

The influence of natural preference for tactile stimuli on appetitive learning in rat pups.

Stimuli of the same modality tend to be organized along a "natural preference scale." This study examined the ability of six- and nine-day-old rat pups to acquire appetitive learning, when the CS was one of two differently "naturally preferred" tactile stimuli (floor textures: rug and plywood). In Experiment 1, all pups showed a relative natural preference for the rug texture over the plywood texture. Pups conditioned on the plywood texture (exposed to a sibling pup as the US) showed a robust increase in preference for the conditioned texture whereas pups conditioned on the rug texture showed a different and more moderate pattern of acquisition. Developmental differences were found only in extinction of the conditioned response: six-day-old (but not nine-day-old) pups displayed extinction of the response over four trials. Experiment 2 indicated that preexposure to the rug CS prior to conditioning (latent inhibition) did not interfere with the learning process on the rug texture. Two major alternative explanations for the differential learning patterns are discussed: motivational and catecholaminergic influences on learning. The results suggest that natural preferences may modulate early learning and memory processes.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Free will versus survival: brain systems that underlie intrinsic constraints on behavior.

This article discusses the neuroanatomical systems involved in the related functions of fear and discernment of the consequences of one's actions, two internal constraints on free will and action. Both mechanisms are related to a system for control and modulation of visceral function stretching from the spinal cord to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, including the ventral striatum, ventral pallidum, and mediodorsal thalamus, the amygdala, the hypothalamus, the periaqueductal gray (PAG), and the brainstem reticular formation and autonomic nuclei. Reflexes at the lower levels provide rapid visceral and somatic reactions to threatening stimuli, while the PAG and hypothalamus coordinate these to produce more concerted responses. The amygdala interacts with the cortical sensory systems in the assessment of fear-related stimuli and modulates the reflex responses through projections to the hypothalamus and brainstem. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, especially the "medial prefrontal network," is connected to the amygdala, hypothalamus, and PAG, and allows cortical control over the system in relation to a wider set of emotions. This cortical region is involved both in the assessment of reward and in mood disorders and it plays a central role in the ability to discern the consequences of one's actions and make appropriate behavioral choices. It also forms an interconnected circuit with specific cortical areas in the rostral superior temporal cortex, posterior parahippocampal cortex, and retrosplenial/posterior cingulate cortex. The overall function of this circuit is unclear, but may be involved in introspective monitoring of the individual.

Amygdala↗

PubMed1975

Following and visual imprinting in ducklings across a wide age range.

Ducklings ranging in age from 20-125 hr were exposed to a moving silent object in an open circular apparatus until a criterion of 300 sec of following was met. All ducklings met the criterion, and age did not correlate with the time required. In subsequent choice tests most ducklings approached the imprinting object over a novel object, and age did not correlate with choice behavior. Results indicate that imprinting can occur over a fairly wide age range, and that the traditional critical period for imprinting may, in part, be an artifact of laboratory methods.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1999

Target- and maturation-specific membrane-associated molecules determine the ingrowth of entorhinal fibers into the hippocampus.

In this study the role of membrane-associated molecules involved in entorhinohippocampal pathfinding was examined. First outgrowth preferences of entorhinal neurites were analyzed on membrane carpets obtained from their proper target area, the hippocampus, and compared to preferences on control membranes from brain regions which do not receive afferent connections from the entorhinal cortex. On a substrate consisting of alternating lanes of hippocampal and control membranes, entorhinal neurites exhibited a strong tendency to grow on lanes of hippocampal membrane. These tissue-specific outgrowth preferences were maintained even on membrane preparations from adult brain tissue devoid of myelin. To determine the possible maturation dependence of these membranes, we examined guidance preferences of entorhinal neurites on hippocampal membranes of different developmental stages ranging from embryonic to postnatal and adult. Given a choice between alternating lanes of embryonic (E15-E16) and neonatal (P0-P1) hippocampal membranes, entorhinal neurites preferred to extend on neonatal membranes. No outgrowth preferences were observed on membranes obtained between E19 and P10. From P10 onward there was a reoccurrence of a preference for postnatal membrane lanes when neurites were presented with a choice between P15, P30, and adult membranes (>P60). This choice behavior of entorhinal neurites temporally correlates with the ingrowth of the perforant path into the hippocampus and with the stabilization of this brain area in vivo. Experiments in which postnatal and adult hippocampal membranes were heat inactivated or treated to remove molecules sensitive to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C demonstrated that entorhinal fiber preferences were controlled in this assay by attractive guidance cues and were independent of phosphatidylinositol-sensitive linked molecules. Moreover, entorhinal neurites displayed a positive discrimination for membrane-associated guidance cues of their target field, thus preferring to grow on membranes from the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus compared with CA3 or hilus membranes. Heat-inactivation experiments indicated that preferential growth of entorhinal axons is due to a specific attractivity of the molecular layer substrate. The data presented demonstrate that outgrowth of entorhinal fibers on hippocampal membranes is target and maturation dependent.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

The relation of mothers' controlling vocalizations to children's intrinsic motivation.

Twenty-six mother-child dyads played together in a laboratory setting. Play sessions were surreptitiously videotaped (with mothers' permission), and each maternal vocalization was transcribed and coded, first into 1 of 24 categories and then ipso facto into one of three supercategories--namely, controlling, autonomy supportive, and neutral. The degree of mothers' controllingness was calculated as the percentage of vocalizations coded as controlling. This index was correlated with the intrinsic motivation of their 6- or 7-year-old children, as assessed primarily by the free-choice behavioral measure and secondarily by a child self-report measure of interest and liking for the task. Both correlations were significantly negative, thereby suggesting that the robust laboratory findings of a negative relation between controlling contexts and individuals' intrinsic motivation are directly generalizable to the domain of parenting. Results are discussed in terms of the processes that undermine intrinsic motivation and the means through which parental controllingness is communicated.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Signed Orders, Choice Probabilities, and Linear Polytopes.

Self-reflecting signed orders were proposed as an aid in estimating preference between subsets of items on the basis of limited information. The data of a signed order are preference comparisons that consider the desirability of excluding items from a subset as well as including items in a subset. This paper investigates signed orders within the setting of probabilistic choice and random utility theory. It focuses on linear signed order polytopes and their relationship to binary choice probabilities. The theory applies both to individual choice behavior and to group decision making. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1994

An environmental intervention to increase fruit and salad purchases in a cafeteria.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the hypothesis that consumption of fruit and salad in a cafeteria setting would increase if the variety of offerings was increased and their price reduced. METHOD: Food purchases in a cafeteria setting were observed during 3 weeks of baseline observation, 3 weeks of intervention, and 3 weeks of return to baseline conditions. Intervention consisted of doubling the number of fruit choices, increasing salad ingredient selections by three, and reducing the price of both fruit and salad by 50%. The primary outcome measures in the study were daily sales of fruit and salad as assessed by cash register receipts. RESULTS: Fruit and salad purchases increased threefold in the intervention period compared to those in the nonintervention periods. Women and those trying to control their weight were most likely to make these nutritious food choices. CONCLUSION: Results of this study support the argument that increasing the number of nutritious food choices and making them more attractive economically may be important to changing food choice behavior. Further exploration of the practical application of the concept is recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Discrimination of Ro 11-6896, chlordiazepoxide and ethanol in gerbils: generalization and antagonism tests.

Separate groups of gerbils were trained in a T-maze to discriminate between either: (1) the 1,4-benzodiazepine Ro 11-6896 (1 mg/kg), (2) chlordiazepoxide (25 mg/kg) or (3) ethanol (2,000 mg/kg) and vehicle. Thus, the respective training condition served as a discriminative stimulus guiding choice behavior. A degree of generalization which was enhanced by increasing injection-test intervals occurred between ethanol and the benzodiazepines. Ro 15-1788 markedly attenuated the cue properties of the benzodiazepines, but not that of ethanol. Additional tests in the Ro 11-6896 group showed that this discrimination was stereoselective but not stereospecific in that the isomer Ro 11-6893 generalized to Ro 11-6896 at a dose of 10 mg/kg but not at 1 mg/kg; Ro 15-1788 attenuated this generalization. Diazepam (3 mg/kg) generalized to Ro 11-6896 whereas the structurally related Ro 5-4864 (3 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg) did not. In separate tests of open-field activity and temperature recording Ro 15-1788 significantly attenuated the effects of Ro 11-6896 (1 mg/kg) and Ro 11-6893 (10 mg/kg).

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Time dependent pentylenetetrazol-like cues subsequent to diazepam administration.

Seventy male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate which of two levers to press for milk reinforcement on a VI-20 schedule of reinforcement on the basis of whether they were injected subcutaneously with 0.75 mg/kg diazepam or 10.0 mg/kg pentylenetetrazol. Following discrimination acquisition, a dose-response function was generated for each drug during 5-min extinction periods. Subjects were then assigned to one of seven groups on the basis of their per cent responding during saline testing. Each group was injected with 5 mg/kg diazepam and then given a 5-min extinction test at intervals of 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, or 24 h subsequent to injection. The results indicated that at the shorter time intervals the animals responded on the diazepam lever. However, as the time interval between injection and testing lengthened, responding on the PTZ bar gradually increased until by 12 h following injection with diazepam the animals were responding as though they had received an injection of 5 mg/kg PTZ. Following this period of rebound, choice behavior returned to baseline by 24 h post-injection.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Drugs and visual perception: effects of LSD, morphine and chloropromazine on accuracy, bias and speed.

Ten pigeons were trained to discriminate between the intensities of two white lights (projected behind a center response "key") using a discrete trial procedure in which choice behavior involved pecking at red or green lights projected behind left or right side keys. LSD (0.02-0.08 mg/kg) did not alter the accuracy of the brightness discrimination (percent correct) although it did lower response speed and may have differentially affected spatial (position) bias. Morphine (2.5--10.0 mg/kg) decreased accuracy of discrimination as well as response speed and had greater effects on trials when the bright stimulus was presented than when the dim stimulus was presented. Chlorpromazine (7.5-3.0 mg/kg) lowered accuracy without significantly altering any other measure of performance.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Role of dopamine and serotonin in modulation of snail defensive behavior.

The application of 10(-5)-10(-6) M dopamine to physiologic saline surrounding snail CNS leads to decreased excitability of the LPa7 neuron (presynaptic in relation to the defensive behavior command neurons) and decreased amplitude of the monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) in the command neurons brought about by intracellular stimulation of the LPa7 neuron. In addition, dopamine causes an average 70% decrease in the amplitude of the summation EPSP in command neurons in response to intestinal nerve stimulation, a 6-8 mV change in the resting potential towards hyperpolarization, and an average 20% decrease in the command neurons' input resistance. These actions can lead to an overall increase in the threshold of the defensive system's reaction to stimulation. The effect of dopamine on command neurons is significantly reduced in the presence of serotonin. In the presence of dopamine, the efficacy of serotonin action on the size of the response elicited in command neurons is reduced. Based on the data obtained, it was concluded that the interrelation of dopamine and serotonin concentrations could be the basis for the formation of behavioral choice in snails.

Aggression↗

PubMed1992

Tolerance, withdrawal, and supersensitivity to dopamine mediated cues in a drug-drug discrimination.

Rats were trained to discriminate between 0.25 mg/kg amphetamine (AMPH) and 0.03 mg/kg haloperidol (HAL) in a two-lever drug discrimination task. In order to test for a drug-induced withdrawal state, animals were assigned to one of three chronic treatment groups and given injections of AMPH, HAL, or distilled water (DW) for 10 consecutive days. Subjects from each treatment condition were then tested at 24, 48, or 72 h after the final injection. At the 24 h retest interval, subjects injected with AMPH responded as though administered an acute dose of HAL (0.028 mg/kg) and subjects injected with chronic HAL responded as though administered an acute dose of AMPH (0.15 mg/kg). By 72 h choice behavior had returned to pretreatment values. To determine whether the rebound observed after 10 days of drug treatment was present after a single injection, independent groups of subjects were injected with single doses of either 10 mg/kg AMPH or 1.0 mg/kg HAL and then retested from 4 h to 48 h later. Single doses of both AMPH and HAL produced significant rebounds that peaked between 20 h (AMPH) and 24 h (HAL) following administration. In a third experiment, animals were tested with or without acute doses of drug following pretreatment with either HAL or AMPH. Receptor supersensitivity accounts for the tolerance observed to HAL 24 h after treatment with 1.0 mg/kg HAL, whereas receptor subsensitivity accounts for the tolerance observed 20 h after treatment with 10 mg/kg AMPH.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Conditioned reinforcing effects of capsules associated with high versus low monetary payoff.

The ability of a placebo drug capsule to serve as a conditioned reinforcer as a function of being paired with money reinforcement was evaluated. Volunteers were administered two differently colored capsules that presumably contained two different drugs. Although the volunteers were told they might contain a stimulant, sedative, or placebo, both capsules contained only a placebo. During sessions, volunteers participated in performance tasks. The tasks were programmed so that following one capsule, the amount of money obtained contingent upon responding was greater (high frequency of reinforcement) than following the other capsule (low frequency of reinforcement). During experiment 1, participants were exposed twice each to the two reinforcement conditions (sampling). During these choice sessions, 9 of 12 participants chose the capsule associated with the high frequency of reinforcement 2 or 3 times. Experiment 2 was designed to explore further whether the differential mood effects observed during sampling sessions could be conditioned. Although this could not be demonstrated, the self-administration results demonstrating the control of choice behavior even in the absence of pharmacological effects suggest that drugs may function as conditioned reinforcers. This finding has implications for broadening our understanding of the determinants of initiation and continued drug use.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Effect of pheromones, hormones, and handling on sucrose response thresholds of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.).

The responsiveness of bees to sucrose is an important indicator of honey bee foraging decisions. Correlated with sucrose responsiveness is forage choice behavior, age of first foraging, and conditioned learning response. Pheromones and hormones are significant components in social insect systems associated with the regulation of colony-level and individual foraging behavior. Bees were treated to different exposure regimes of queen and brood pheromones and their sucrose responsiveness measured. Bees reared with queen or brood pheromone were less responsive than controls. Our results suggest responsiveness to sucrose is a physiologically, neuronally mediated response. Orally administered octopamine significantly reduced sucrose response thresholds. Change in response to octopamine was on a time scale of minutes. The greatest separation between octopamine treated and control bees occurred 30 min after feeding. There was no significant sucrose response difference to doses ranging from 0.2 mug to 20 mug of octopamine. Topically applied methoprene significantly increased sucrose responsiveness. Handling method significantly affected sucrose responsiveness. Bees that were anesthetized by chilling or CO(2) treatment were significantly more responsive than control bees 30 min after handling. Sixty minutes after handling there were no significant treatment differences. We concluded that putative stress effects of handling were blocked by anesthetic.

Anesthesia↗

PubMed1994

Discriminative effects of cocaethylene in rats trained to discriminate cocaine or ethanol.

Two groups of rats were trained to discriminate between the stimulus properties of either intraperitoneally administered 10.0 mg/kg cocaine or 60 mg/kg ethanol and its vehicle in a two-lever operant chamber. Once trained, both groups exhibited a dose-related decrease in discriminative performance when tested with lower doses. A dose of 10 mg/kg cocaine, as well as doses of 10-30 mg/kg cocaethylene, in the ethanol-trained animals produced no greater than 38.9% responding on the ethanol-appropriate lever. Combinations of the approximate ethanol ED50 dose with either 10 mg/kg cocaine or 20 mg/kg cocaethylene did not increase ethanol lever responding. In contrast, in the cocaine-trained animals, administration of cocaethylene produced dose-responsive cocaine-like discrimination with 30 mg/kg producing 88.9% responding on the cocaine-appropriate lever. In addition, 600 mg/kg ethanol co-administered with a (2.5 mg/kg) dose of cocaine that was poorly discriminated produced 85% of responses on the cocaine-appropriate lever. The peak effect of cocaine and cocaethylene were observed to occur in 15-30 min post-administration with cocaine choice behavior decreasing at a faster rate than seen for cocaethylene discrimination. Results are discussed in light of ethanol and cocaine producing a heightened, as well as prolonged, euphoria in humans.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Functional changes in waking and sleeping rats after lesions in the olfactory pathways.

Food deprived control rats presented the following characteristics: (1) in a two-choice behavioral test, the animals explored significantly more the side of the cage odorized by a food odor (FO) than the non odorized one; (2) FO presentations in slow wave sleep (SWS) aroused them significantly more often than in a food satiated condition; (3) during wakefulness, the multiunit mitral cell responsiveness towards FO was selectively enhanced. The same 3 parameters have also been tested in animals where projections of one olfactory bulb were completely sectioned, or intact either in the medial or in the lateral part of one peduncle; the other olfactory peduncle was completely severed. The results showed that waking rats needed both medial and lateral projection pathways to perform normally in the food odor detection task, and to display the normal mitral cell excitability. However, in SWS, one medial pathway at least was needed to mediate normal rates of neocortical arousal in response to FO stimulations. The results are considered in terms of functional complementarity/redundance of the medial and lateral olfactory pathways.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Luminance sensitivity recovers quickly in monocularly deprived cats.

We measured increment thresholds, using a reaction time or two-choice behavioral technique, in three cats monocularly deprived of normal vision for 14-16 months. Luminance increment thresholds could be obtained as early as nine days after lid opening and improved by 0.5-2.0 log units over the next few weeks. Also, visual reaction times decreased during the sensitivity improvement. When compared to the data for grating discrimination, these results suggest that visual recovery from monocular deprivation may proceed at different rates for different psychophysical discriminations.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

The Bezold-Brücke effect in the color vision system of the honeybee.

Evidence is presented that intensity dependent color shifts (Bezold-Brücke effect) occur in the color vision system of the honeybee. The evidence comes from a fit between the choices of monochromatic lights in training experiments (Menzel, R., 1981; Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 141, 389-393) and the choice percentages derived now from recently presented quantitative predictions from the color opponent coding (COC) model for the bee (Backhaus, W., 1991; Vision Research, 31, 1381-1397) for the Bezold-Brücke effect. The only open parameter in the simulations of the training experiments is an experiment type dependent factor describing the weighting of color differences (judgement values) in the choice behavior. The results show (1) that the Bezold-Brücke effect exists in the bee. The results (2) confirm the color opponent coding (COC) model which was developed to describe the physiological components of the color vision system in the bee, (3) the general psychophysical assumptions about the structure of the color space, (4) the color difference formula, and (5) the general psychophysical assumptions about the (triadic) structure of judgements as tested in color similarity experiments.

Animals↗