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Results for “Choice Behavior”

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At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Conditional rescue of protein kinase C epsilon regulates ethanol preference and hypnotic sensitivity in adult mice.

Conventional gene targeting is a powerful tool to study the influence of specific genes on behavior. However, conclusions relevant for adult animals are limited by consequences of gene loss during development. Mice lacking protein kinase C epsilon (PKCepsilon) consume less alcohol and show greater acute sensitivity to alcohol than do wild-type mice. There are no selective inhibitors of PKCepsilon that can be administered systemically and cross the blood-brain barrier to test whether these phenotypes result from loss of PKCepsilon during development or in adulthood. Here we used conditional expression of PKCepsilon in the basal forebrain, amygdala, and cerebellum to rescue wild-type responses to alcohol in adult PKCepsilon(-/-) mice. Subsequent suppression of transgenic PKCepsilon restored PKCepsilon(-/-) behaviors. These findings establish that PKCepsilon signaling in the adult brain regulates alcohol consumption and sensitivity. If this extends to humans, then PKCepsilon inhibitors might prove useful as novel therapeutics for alcoholism.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of employer perspectives.

The proliferation of health care consumer reports (also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports") designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions makes it vital to understand the perspective of employers who provide the vast majority of health insurance to the working population regarding the use of these reports. There is little empirical evidence on how consumer reports are used by employers to make health care purchasing decisions. This study fills that gap by surveying 154 businesses in Boone County, Missouri, regarding their evaluation of a consumer guide. The majority of employers surveyed indicate that the report will not have a direct effect on their health care purchasing decisions. However, they indicate that the reports are "positive and worthwhile" and their responses reflect a favorable view of the health care organization that developed and disseminated the report. Additionally, findings indicate that employers generally prefer consumer reports as a means to compare local health care institutions, rather than reviewing national averages to locate the same information. Report developers should take precautions to determine the intent of such reports, as they may not achieve the objective of changing employers' health care purchasing behavior.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Reaching behavior of rats during realization of a lateralized motor food skill].

Adult Wistar rats were trained to obtain food pellets from a narrow horizontal tube with a preferred forepaw. The feeder was equipped with five photoelectric sensors with 5-mm spacing. The following parameters were recorded: total number of movements performed for a given task, amplitude (depth) of each movement, number of anticipatory movements performed with different amplitudes, and amplitude of a successful movement. It was shown that in rats with good skill acquisition, a successful food extraction was preceded by a series of differently organized sequence of preliminary movements. In some rats, such a series consisted of initial non-deep attempts followed by movements with high amplitude, whereas in other animals, it was represented, mainly, by deep attempts. Both groups of animals terminated the series by grasping and extracting food from a long distance. It is suggested that the observed organizations of the lateralized food-getting behavior of rats under the given experimental conditions represent fixed (stereotyped) action patterns.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Self-regulation of food intake among rural Mexican preschool children.

Access to food and the amount consumed were investigated within a group of 45 children aged 33 to 60 months, among whom growth stunting was common. Children were observed throughout 1 day; all foods offered and consumed were weighed, and food-related behaviors noted. Children ate frequently, at least 2 meals and an average of 7.4 +/- 2.6 snacks daily. Children had access to 2029 +/- 575 kcal (8493 +/- 2407 kJ) yet only consumed 1528 +/- 343 kcal (6396 +/- 1436 kJ) daily; thus food availability was not restricting intake. A higher proportion of snacks than meals (85 per cent vs. 71 per cent) was consumed. Children requested foods frequently (x = 9.2 +/- 4.3) and 76 per cent of requests were fulfilled. Neither amount of accessible food nor amount consumed differed by age, gender, or socioeconomic status. The importance of the child's role in determining food intake, and of snacking to overall food consumption, was demonstrated.

Child Behavior↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parental influence on child preference of a dentist.

It is the attitudes of our society that create sexual bias and stereotyping, which develop in the preschool years. One hundred and seventy children, 4-5 years of age, were interviewed and their mothers were given a questionnaire. The child's preference for a dentist was related to his or her own gender, with girls selecting women more often than boys selecting men. Parents did not appear to influence the child's selection.

Attitude↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 with a taste aversion paradigm in rats.

A taste aversion test was used to evaluate the toxic effects of aflatoxin (AF) B1 which is considered to be one of the most potent hepatocarcinogens known. Sixty male Fisher rats were randomly assigned to six treatment (injection) groups: Water (H2O); Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO); Lithium Chloride (LiCl); 0.125 mg/kg AFB1 (AF-Low); 0.250 mg/kg AFB1 (AF-Medium) and 0.500 mg/kg AFB1 (AF-High). After adaption to a water-deprivation schedule which permitted 10-min access to water each day, the rats were given 10-min access to 0.1% saccharin solution which was followed by intraperitoneal injections of either H2O, DMSO, LiCl, or AF of varying doses according to group assignment. After a five-day recovery period, the rats were initially tested for a conditional taste aversion to the saccharin solution with a two-bottle test during the 10-min access period. Then, a series of two-bottle taste aversion tests were conducted in which H2O and saccharin solutions were available on an ad lib basis. The LiCl, AF-Low, AF-Medium, and AF-High groups developed strong aversions to the saccharin solution; whereas, the H2O and DMSO control groups did not. In addition, there was a dose-response relationship between the doses of aflatoxin and the level of aversion with the AF-High group demonstrating the most marked aversion throughout all saccharin tests. Retention tests showed that the taste aversion was still evident 30 days after the initial pairing of saccharin with AF.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1994

Gender labels and play styles: their relative contribution to children's selection of playmates.

The relative contribution of gender labels and play styles (masculine or feminine) in playmate selection was evaluated in 60 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years using a novel interview measure. In the interview, when targets' gender labels and targets' play styles were presented as independent dimensions, children showed predicted sex differences in preferences for gender labels and for play styles (including toys, rough-and-tumble play, and activity level). However, when targets' gender labels and targets' play styles were presented as competing dimensions, boys of all ages chose female targets with masculine play styles over male targets with feminine play styles. In contrast, younger girls (4-5-year-olds) chose female targets with masculine play styles, whereas older girls (6-8-year-olds) chose male targets with feminine play styles. This suggests possible sex differences in the contribution of gender labels and of play styles in the development of children's preferences for same-sexed playmates.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

A two-choice preference assessment with five cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus).

A study selected 5 cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) located at the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas, for a food preference assessment. The study used a paired-choice procedure across 7 different food items for all 5 tamarins. Preferences for the food items across all the tamarins varied, although general trends were noted as well. This article discusses the benefits of using paired-choice preference assessments in zoo settings.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Choice between delayed reinforcers in a discrete-trials schedule: the effect of deprivation level.

Choice between two reinforcers differing in magnitude and delay was investigated in rats using a discrete-trials schedule in which the two reinforcers were associated with two levers (A and B); in each session 5 free-choice trials (A and B both available) were interspersed among 44 forced-choice trials (A alone, 22 trials; B alone, 22 trials). In Experiment 1, preference for the more concentrated of two sucrose solutions declined as the delay to that reinforcer was progressively increased. In Experiment 2, progressively increasing the delay to both reinforcers by the same amount resulted in a shift in preference away from the less concentrated solution. In Experiment 3, it was found that the decline in preference for the more concentrated solution as a function of the delay to that reinforcer was steeper when the rats were maintained at 90% than when they were maintained at 80% of their free-feeding body weights. This effect of deprivation level on choice is inconsistent with some current models of "self-control".

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Issues of choice and control in the behaviour of a pair of captive polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

Stereotyped behaviour occurs in a wide variety of captive animals including ursids. The provision of animal control over aspects of their environment by providing choices is a critical element for improving welfare. The behaviour of two sibling polar bears at a metropolitan zoo was examined to investigate the effect of providing access to their indoor, off-exhibit holding space. Both bears demonstrated behavioural changes when given the choice to access their indoor dens including decreased stereotyped behaviours and increased social play. These results, although based on just two bears, provide additional support for the assertion that choice and control are closely tied to issues of well-being for captive animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Molar versus local reinforcement probability as determinants of stimulus value.

During one component of a multiple schedule, pigeons were trained on a discrete-trial concurrent variable-interval variable-interval schedule in which one alternative had a high scheduled rate of reinforcement and the other a low scheduled rate of reinforcement. When the choice proportion between the alternatives matched their respective relative reinforcement frequencies, the obtained probabilities of reinforcement (reinforcer per peck) were approximately equal. In alternate components of the multiple schedule, a single response alternative was presented with an intermediate scheduled rate of reinforcement. During probe trials, each alternative of the concurrent schedule was paired with the constant alternative. The stimulus correlated with the high reinforcement rate was preferred over that with the intermediate rate, whereas the stimulus correlated with the intermediate rate of reinforcement was preferred over that correlated with the low rate of reinforcement. Preference on probe tests was thus determined by the scheduled rate of reinforcement. Other subjects were presented all three alternatives individually, but with a distribution of trial frequency and reinforcement probability similar to that produced by the choice patterns of the original subjects. Here, preferences on probe tests were determined by the obtained probabilities of reinforcement. Comparison of the two sets of results indicates that the availability of a choice alternative, even when not responded to, affects the preference for that alternative. The results imply that models of choice that invoke only obtained probability of reinforcement as the controlling variable (e.g., melioration) are inadequate.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Search strategies used by APP transgenic mice during navigation in the Morris water maze.

TgCRND8 mice represent a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, with onset of cognitive impairment and increasing amyloid-beta plaques in their brains at 12 weeks of age. In this study, the spatial memory in 25- to 30-week-old TgCRND8 mice was analyzed in two reference and one working memory Morris water maze (MWM) tests. In reference memory tests, the mice were trained to escape to a hidden platform, which in one version of the test was marked by a visual cue. In the working memory test, the hidden platform was moved daily to different locations. The TgCRND8 mice were impaired in reference memory when trained in a hidden platform test. However, the mice developed spatial memory comparable to non-Tg littermates in a cued reference memory test. The mice showed also an impairment in spatial working memory. Analysis of search paths revealed that in contrast to non-Tg littermates, TgCRND8 mice did not use spatial strategies during their navigation. Instead, they learned to locate an escape platform using a nonspatial, chaining strategy. The study showed that (1) the impairment in the reference memory of TgCRND8 mice was reduced when a hidden platform was cued, and that (2) both working and reference memory systems of TgCRND8 mice, but not (3) the plasticity of choice between search strategies, are compromised by the transgene-induced pathology.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1995

Reinforcer assessment for children with developmental disabilities and visual impairments.

We assessed the applicability of two previously developed reinforcer assessment procedures to children with developmental disabilities and visual impairments. Greater differentiation between stimuli was observed with a choice procedure than with a preference procedure. Measurement of compliance and rate of responding in adaptive skill training confirmed that the choice procedure accurately identified reinforcing stimuli. The preference procedure produced false positive predictions of reinforcer efficacy.

Adolescent↗