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PubMed2004

Allelic variation of the Tas1r3 taste receptor gene selectively affects behavioral and neural taste responses to sweeteners in the F2 hybrids between C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J mice.

Recent studies have shown that the T1R3 receptor protein encoded by the Tas1r3 gene is involved in transduction of sweet taste. To assess ligand specificity of the T1R3 receptor, we analyzed the association of Tas1r3 allelic variants with taste responses in mice. In the F2 hybrids between the C57BL/6ByJ (B6) and 129P3/J (129) inbred mouse strains, we determined genotypes of markers on chromosome 4, where Tas1r3 resides, measured consumption of taste solutions presented in two-bottle preference tests, and recorded integrated responses of the chorda tympani gustatory nerve to lingual application of taste stimuli. For intakes and preferences, significant linkages to Tas1r3 were found for the sweeteners sucrose, saccharin, and D-phenylalanine but not glycine. For chorda tympani responses, significant linkages to Tas1r3 were found for the sweeteners sucrose, saccharin, D-phenylalanine, D-tryptophan, and SC-45647 but not glycine, L-proline, L-alanine, or L-glutamine. No linkages to distal chromosome 4 were detected for behavioral or neural responses to non-sweet quinine, citric acid, HCl, NaCl, KCl, monosodium glutamate, inosine 5'-monophosphate, or ammonium glutamate. These results demonstrate that allelic variation of the Tas1r3 gene affects gustatory neural and behavioral responses to some, but not all, sweeteners. This study describes the range of ligand sensitivity of the T1R3 receptor using an in vivo approach and, to our knowledge, is the first genetic mapping study of activity in gustatory nerves.

Alleles↗
PubMed2006

Preference-weighted health status associated with substance use-disorders treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Cost-effectiveness analyses using preference-weighted health status as the measure of effectiveness allow for the direct comparison of cost-effectiveness ratios for physical and mental health interventions. However, these analyses are not commonly used for substance use-disorders interventions. We conducted a methodological evaluation of the relationship between preference-weighted health status and 6-month substance use-disorders treatment outcomes. METHOD: The design was an observational study of clients receiving substance use-disorders treatment. Fifteen high-volume treatment centers within a regional managed behavioral health care organization participated. There were 165 subjects (117 men, 48 women) diagnosed with current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, substance dependence in the analysis. Baseline and 6-month data included substance-use quantity, frequency, and diagnostic criteria and preference-weighted Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 scores based on visual analog scale (VAS) and standard gamble (SG) conversion formulas. RESULTS: Controlling for sociodemographic variables, VAS change for early remission at 6 months was 0.107 (p = .0002) (reference category continued dependence). SG change for early remission at 6 months was 0.041 (p < .0004). Using heavy drinkers as the reference category, VAS preference-weighted change was 0.062 (p = .10) for abstinent and 0.112 (p = .01) for moderate drinkers. SG preference-weighted change was 0.027 (p = .08) for abstinent and 0.046 (p = .01) for moderate drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the construct validity of preference-weighted health status in substance use-disorders treatment. Direct comparisons of the cost-effectiveness of substance use-disorders treatment with other mental or physical health interventions are critical during times of limited health care resources.

Adult↗
PubMed1974

Reward versus cost token systems: an analysis of the effects on students and teacher.

The effects of reward and cost token procedures on the social and academic behavior of two groups of elementary special-education students were assessed using a reversal design. Behavioral observations of three target subjects in each group revealed that both procedures were about equally effective in reducing rule violations and off-task behavior. Records kept on the daily arithmetic performance of all subjects showed that output doubled in both groups during the token phases, although accuracy remained unchanged. When students were allowed to choose either contingency, no pattern of preference was established. Small differences were found in teacher behavior: the reward procedure led to an increase in approval comments but cost procedures produced no changes in teacher behavior.

Achievement↗
PubMed1978

Teaching retarded women a clothing selection skill using community norms.

Five institutionalized retarded women were taught a clothing selection skill to coincide with popular fashion. Normative data concerning popular styles of color-coordinated clothing were collected through observations of women's apparel in a local community. Using a puzzle simulation of a woman with alternative pieces of colored clothing, color coordination training was conducted using modelling, instructions, practice, praise, and feedback to teach popular selections of color combinations. A generalization training component with actual clothing was also included. Training was accompanied by large increases in percentage of popular color selections with the puzzle and actual clothing. The increases maintained over a seven- to 14-week followup period. Time efficiency measures supported the use of the simulation procedure as opposed to total reliance on actual clothing. The results underscore the utility of local norms in community preparation programs and the efficacy of instructional procedures for severely and profoundly retarded persons as part of their participation in the deinstitutionalization movement.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Emergence of reinforcer preference as a function of schedule requirements and stimulus similarity.

Tustin (1994) recently observed that an individual's preference for one of two concurrently available reinforcers under low schedule requirements (concurrent fixed-ratio [FR] 1) switched to the other reinforcer when the schedule requirements were high (concurrent FR 10). We extended this line of research by examining preference for similar and dissimilar reinforcers (i.e., those affecting the same sensory modality and those affecting different sensory modalities). Two individuals with developmental disabilities were exposed to an arrangement in which pressing two different panels produced two different reinforcers according to progressively increasing, concurrent-ratio schedules. When two dissimilar stimuli were concurrently available (food and a leisure item), no clear preference for one item over the other was observed, regardless of the FR schedules in effect (FR 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20). By contrast, when two similar stimuli were concurrently available (two food items), a clear preference for one item emerged as the schedule requirements were increased from FR 1 to FR 5 or FR 10. These results are discussed in terms of implications for conducting preference assessments and for selecting reinforcers to be used under training conditions in which response requirements are relatively high or effortful.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A response-restriction analysis of stereotypy in adolescents with mental retardation: implications for applied behavior analysis.

The behavior of 4 adolescents with severe or profound mental retardation was evaluated in the presence of four sets of materials during periods of unstructured leisure activity. Functional engagement with the materials, stereotypic engagement with the materials, stereotypy without interaction with the materials, and other aberrant behaviors were recorded. Across a series of experimental conditions, the number of sets of materials was reduced from four to one by eliminating the set most frequently manipulated in each preceeding condition. In the final condition, four sets of materials were again made available for manipulation. The procedures replicated Green and Striefel's (1988) response-restriction analysis of the activity preferences and play behaviors of children with autism. In general, the results of the present experiment replicate those of Green and Striefel in that reallocation of responding was idiosyncratic and unpredictable as sets of materials were removed. Nevertheless, the results provided insight into how responding might be reallocated if it were restricted through behavioral interventions rather than by restriction of access. Thus, the results are discussed with respect to how response-restriction analyses may be useful in identifying topographies of behavior that could be included in differential reinforcement contigencies that are designed to affect stereotypic behavior and in the selection and arrangement of environmental stimuli to minimize the presence of evokers of stereotypy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Relative versus absolute reinforcement effects: implications for preference assessments.

We compared results obtained in two previous studies on reinforcer identification (Fisher et al., 1992; Pace, Ivancic, Edwards, Iwata, & Page, 1985) by combining methodologies from both studies. Eight individuals with mental retardation participated. During Phase 1, two preference assessments were conducted, one in which stimuli were presented singly (SS method) and one in which stimuli were presented in pairs (PS method). Based on these results, two types of stimuli were identified for each participant: High-preference (HP) stimuli were those selected on 75% or more trials during both preference assessments; low-preference (LP) stimuli were those selected on 100% of the SS trials but on 25% or fewer of the PS trials. During Phase 2, the reinforcing effects of HP and LP stimuli were evaluated in reversal designs under two test conditions: concurrent and single schedules of continuous reinforcement. Two response options were available under the concurrent-schedule condition: One response produced access to the HP stimulus; the other produced access to the LP stimulus. Only one response option was available under the single-schedule condition, and that response produced access only to the LP stimulus. Results indicated that 7 of the 8 participants consistently showed preference for the HP stimulus under the concurrent schedule. However, when only the LP stimulus was available during the single-schedule condition, response rates for 6 of the 7 participants were as high as those observed for the HP stimulus during the concurrent-schedule condition (1 participant showed no reinforcement effect). These results indicate that, although the concurrent-schedule procedure is well suited to the assessment of relative reinforcement effects (preference for one reinforcer over another), absolute reinforcement effects associated with a given stimulus may be best examined under single-schedule conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

On the displacement of leisure items by food during multiple-stimulus preference assessments.

Previous studies have demonstrated that when food and leisure stimuli are combined in multiple-stimulus preference assessments, individuals typically select food more often, although the leisure stimuli also have known reinforcing properties. The purpose of the current study was to replicate this effect and determine its durability by examining the effect after mealtimes. Four adults who had been diagnosed with severe mental retardation were given three initial multiple-stimulus (without replacement) preference assessments (i.e., food, leisure stimuli, and combined). All participants selected food items as the most preferred stimuli in the combined assessments. Combined assessments were then administered immediately before and after the evening meal for each participant for 1 week. The results showed similar data both before and after mealtimes.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Antecedent manipulations in a tangible condition: effects of stimulus preference on aggression.

After a functional analysis indicated that aggression of an 8-year-old boy with autism was maintained by access to preferred items, antecedent manipulations involving the relative preference of restricted and noncontingently available stimuli were conducted. Restricting highly preferred items evoked the highest rates of aggression regardless of the preference level of the noncontingently available alternative items. Restricting less preferred stimuli was associated with moderate rates of aggression even when the alternative items were more preferred.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Response-restriction analysis: I. Assessment of activity preferences.

We used procedures based on response-restriction (RR) analysis to assess vocational and leisure activity preferences for 3 adults with developmental disabilities. To increase the efficiency of the analysis relative to that reported in previous research, we used criteria that allowed activities to be restricted at the earliest point at which a preference could be determined. Results obtained across two consecutive RR assessments showed some variability in overall preference rankings but a high degree of consistency for highly ranked items. Finally, we compared results of the RR assessment with those of an extended free-operant assessment and found that the RR assessment yielded (a) more differentiated patterns of preference and (b) more complete information about engagement with all of the target activities.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Response-restriction analysis: II. Alteration of activity preferences.

We used response-restriction (RR) assessments to identify the preferences of 7 individuals with mental retardation for a variety of vocational and leisure activities. We subsequently increased their engagement in nonpreferred activities using several procedures: response restriction per se versus a Premack-type contingency (Study 1), supplemental reinforcement for engagement in target activities (Study 2), and noncontingent pairing of reinforcers with nonpreferred activities (Study 3). Results indicated that preferences are not immutable and can be altered through a variety of relatively benign interventions and that the results of RR assessments may be helpful in determining which types of procedures may be most effective on an individual basis.

Adult↗
PubMed1974

Concurrent performances: reinforcement by different doses of intravenous cocaine in rhesus monkeys.

Different doses of intravenous cocaine reinforced the lever pressing of rhesus monkeys under two-lever concurrent or concurrent-chain schedules. Under the concurrent procedure, responding produced drug reinforcers arranged according to independent variable-interval 1-min schedules. Under the concurrent-chain procedure, responding in the variable-interval link led to one of two mutually exclusive, equal-valued, fixed-ratio links; completion of the ratio produced a drug reinforcer. Under both procedures, responding on one lever produced a constant dose of 0.05 or 0.1 mg/kg/injection, while on the other lever, dose was systematically varied within a range of 0.013 to 0.8 mg/kg/injection. Preference, indicated by relative response frequency on the variable-dose lever during the variable-interval link, was always for the larger of the doses. Relative response frequencies on the variable-dose lever roughly matched relative drug intake (mg/kg of drug obtained on variable lever divided by mg/kg of drug obtained on both levers). For many dose comparisons, responding occurred and reinforcers were obtained almost exclusively on the preferred lever. Overall variable-interval rates generally were lower than with other reinforcers, and these low rates, under the experimental conditions, may have occasioned the exclusive preferences.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The substitutability of reinforcers.

Substitutability is a construct borrowed from microeconomics that describes a continuum of possible interactions among the reinforcers in a given situation. Highly substitutable reinforcers, which occupy one end of the continuum, are readily traded for each other due to their functional similarity. Complementary reinforcers, at the other end of the continuum, tend to be consumed jointly in fairly rigid proportion, and therefore cannot be traded for one another except to achieve that proportion. At the center of the continuum are reinforcers that are independent with respect to each other; consumption of one has no influence on consumption of another. Psychological research and analyses in terms of substitutability employ standard operant conditioning paradigms in which humans and nonhumans choose between alternative reinforcers. The range of reinforcer interactions found in these studies is more readily accommodated and predicted when behavior-analytic models of choice consider issues of substitutability. New insights are gained into such areas as eating and drinking, electrical brain stimulation, temporal separation of choice alternatives, behavior therapy, drug use, and addictions. Moreover, the generalized matching law (Baum, 1974) gains greater explanatory power and comprehensiveness when measures of substitutability are included.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Behavioral economics of concurrent ethanol-sucrose and sucrose reinforcement in the rat: effects of altering variable-ratio requirements.

These experiments examined the own-price and cross-price elasticities of a drug (ethanol mixed with 10% sucrose) and a nondrug (10% sucrose) reinforcer. Rats were presented with ethanol-sucrose and sucrose, both available on concurrent independent variable-ratio (VR) 8 schedules of reinforcement. In Experiment 1, the variable ratio for the ethanol mix was systematically raised to 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, and 30, while the variable ratio for sucrose remained at 8. Five of the 6 rats increased ethanol-reinforced responding at some of the increments and defended baseline levels of ethanol intake. However, the rats eventually ceased ethanol-reinforced responding at the highest variable ratios. Sucrose-reinforced responding was not systematically affected by the changes in variable ratio for ethanol mix. In Experiment 2, the variable ratio for sucrose was systematically increased while the ethanol-sucrose response requirement remained constant. The rats decreased sucrose-reinforced responding and increased ethanol-sucrose-reinforced responding, resulting in a two- to 10-fold increase in ethanol intake. Experiment 3 examined the substitutability of qualitatively identical reinforcers: 10% sucrose versus 10% sucrose. Increases in variable-ratio requirements at the preferred lever resulted in a switch in lever preference. Experiment 4 examined whether 10% ethanol mix substituted for 5% ethanol mix, with increasing variable-ratio requirements of the 5% ethanol. All rats eventually responded predominantly for the 10% ethanol mix, but total amount of ethanol consumed per session did not systematically change. In Experiment 5, the variable-ratio requirements for both ethanol and sucrose were simultaneously raised to VR 120; 7 of 8 rats increased ethanol-reinforced responding while decreasing sucrose-reinforced responding. These data suggest that, within this ethanol-induction procedure and within certain parameters, demand for ethanol-sucrose was relatively inelastic, and sucrose consumption was independent of ethanol-sucrose consumption. Demand for sucrose, on the other hand, was relatively elastic, and ethanol-sucrose readily substituted for it. The results are discussed in terms of applying a behavioral economic approach to relationships between drug and nondrug reinforcers.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1999

The choose-short effect and trace models of timing.

The tuned-trace multiple-time-scale (MTS) theory of timing can account both for the puzzling choose-short effect in time-discrimination experiments and for the complementary choose-long effect. But it cannot easily explain why the choose-short effect seems to disappear when the intertrial and recall intervals are signaled by different stimuli. Do differential stimuli actually abolish the effect, or merely improve memory? If the latter, there are ways in which an expanded MTS theory might explain differential-context effects in terms of reduced interference. If the former, there are observational and experimental ways to determine whether differential context favors prospective encoding or some other nontemporal discrimination.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Comparing preference and resistance to change in constant- and variable-duration schedule components.

Two experiments explored preference and resistance to change in concurrent chains in which the terminal links were variable-interval schedules that ended either after a single reinforcer had been delivered (variable duration) or after a fixed period of access to the schedule (constant duration). In Experiment 1, pigeons' preference between the same pair of terminal links overmatched relative reinforcement rate when the terminal links were of constant duration, but not when they were of variable duration. Responding during the richer terminal link decreased less, relative to baseline, when response-independent food was presented during the initial links according to a variable-time schedule. In Experiment 2, all subjects consistently preferred a terminal link that consisted of 20-s access to a variable-interval 20-s schedule over a terminal link that ended after one reinforcer had been delivered by the same schedule. Results of resistance-to-change tests corresponded to preference, as responding during the constant-duration terminal link decreased less, relative to baseline, when disrupted by both response-independent food during the initial links and prefeeding. Overall, these data extend the general covariation of preference and resistance to change seen in previous studies. However, they suggest that reinforcement numerosity, including variability in the number of reinforcers per terminal-link entry, may sometimes affect preference and resistance to change in ways that are difficult to explain in terms of current models.

Animals↗