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A review of positive conditioned reinforcement.

This review critically analyzes experimental data relevant to the concept of conditioned reinforcement. The review has five sections. Section I is a discussion of the relationship between primary and conditioned reinforcement in terms of chains of stimuli and responses. Section II is a detailed analysis of the conditions in which the component stimuli in chained schedules of reinforcement will become conditioned reinforcers; this section also analyzes studies of token reinforcement, observing responses, switching responses, implicit chained schedules, and higher-order conditioning. Section III analyzes experiments in which potential conditioned reinforcers are used either to prolong responding or to generate responding during experimental extinction. This section discusses hypotheses that have been offered as alternatives to the concept of conditioned reinforcement and hypotheses concerning the necessary and sufficient conditions for establishing a conditioned reinforcer. Section IV discusses other variables that act when a conditioned reinforcer is being established or that act when an established conditioned reinforcer is used to develop or maintain behavior. Section V is a general discussion of conditioned reinforcement. The evidence indicates that the conditioned reinforcing effectiveness of a stimulus is directly related to the frequency of primary reinforcement occurring in its presence, but is independent of the response rate or response pattern occurring in its presence. Results from chained schedules comprised of several components indicate that a stimulus can be established as a conditioned reinforcer by pairing it with an already established conditioned reinforcer rather than a primary reinforcer; however, this type of higher-order conditioning has not been clearly demonstrated with respondent conditioning procedures. Although discriminative stimuli are usually conditioned reinforcers, the available evidence indicates that establishing a stimulus as a discriminative stimulus is not necessary or sufficient for establishing it as a conditioned reinforcer. Discriminative stimuli in chained schedules with several components are not always conditioned reinforcers; stimuli that are simply paired with reinforcers can become conditioned reinforcers. The hypotheses that have been offered as alternatives to the concept of conditioned reinforcement are too limited to integrate the data that exist. The concepts of conditioned reinforcement and chained schedule, however, can be used to integrate the data obtained with diverse techniques. Recent experiments have revealed several techniques for the development of effective conditioned reinforcers. These techniques provide a powerful tool for advancing understanding of conditioned reinforcement and for extending control over behavior.

Conditioning, Classical↗

Conditioned behavioural responses to apomorphine: extinction and haloperidol-induced inhibition.

In previous studies it was established that stereotypies (sniffing, licking, gnawing) produced by apomorphine can be conditioned and after repeated pairings with defined conditioned stimuli (auditory, tactile + olfactory) these stereotypies can be observed in the presence of the conditioned stimuli alone. In the present experiments, the extinction of these conditioned stereotypies was studied in one series; in another series, the possible inhibition of conditioned stereotypies by the blocker of dopamine receptors, haloperidol, was measured. The rats were conditioned (or the controls pseudoconditioned, respectively) for either 3 or 10 days with 2.0 mg/kg s.c. apomorphine or 6 days with 0.5 mg/kg s.c. of the drug and by placing them into particular cages in the presence of an auditory and an olfactory stimulus. Under all these conditions, episodes of conditioned stereotypies were observed, when solvent + conditioned stimuli instead of apomorphine was applied 1 day after the last conditioning session (first session of extinction). The conditioned responses seemed to be on the highest level after conditioning with 2.0 mg/kg apomorphine 3 days, lower after conditioning with the same dose on 10 days, and even lower after conditioning for 6 days with 0.5 mg/kg. Under all these conditions, the stereotypies summed up and averaged for the total observation period of 60 min rapidly decreased during the extinction period, so that on day 4 of the extinction period, no further significant differences between conditioned and pseudoconditioned animals were observed, although a short initial period was still observed on the fourth day. On day 3 of extinction, not only an early, but also a late episode of conditioned stereotypies was manifest, interrupted by an almost silent period. The acute (unconditioned) stereotypies produced by 0.5 mg/kg s.c. apomorphine were almost completely suppressed by pretreatment with 0.1 mg/kg i.p. haloperidol. In contrast, the same dose of haloperidol produced a much less pronounced inhibition of conditioned stereotypies after conditioning with the same dose of apomorphine for 6 times. These results, together with previous findings, suggest that the conditioned behavioural effects are not due to an activation of dopaminergic mechanisms during conditioning with apomorphine.

Animals↗

Neurotoxic lesions of the dorsal hippocampus disrupt auditory-cued trace heart rate (fear) conditioning in rabbits.

The first experiment in this study used the classical heart rate (HR) conditioning paradigm to determine if rabbits could associate an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) and a fear-producing shock-unconditioned stimulus (US) separated by an empty 10-s trace interval. Trace conditioned rabbits (n = 7) acquired significant bradycardiac conditioned HR responses on CS-alone test trials during a single 35-trial conditioning session. Control animals (n = 7) which received unpaired CSs and USs did not show HR conditioning. During a retention session of CS-alone trials 24 h after the conditioning session, some trace-conditioned animals showed conditioned HR responses immediately following CS onset (n = 3), while others showed responses appropriately timed to the US onset (n = 4) used in trace conditioning 24 h earlier. Thus, rabbits remember the duration of the long 10-s trace interval 24 h after a single day of training. The second part of this study sought to determine if cells in the dorsal hippocampus play a role in trace HR conditioning. Rabbits were given bilateral ibotenic acid lesions in the neocortex (n = 7) or dorsal hippocampus (n = 8). During trace conditioning and retention, neocortical animals showed conditioned HR responses to the CS, whereas the hippocampal group showed no significant HR conditioning. One week after trace conditioning, the same animals received a delay HR conditioning session where no trace interval separated the CS and US. During delay conditioning, hippocampal animals showed significant conditioned HR responses to the CS that were similar to the neocortical group. Thus, the dorsal hippocampus plays a critical role in rabbit HR conditioning when the CS and US are separated by a 10-s trace interval. This paradigm may be ideal for in vivo electrophysiological recording studies because rabbits are easily immobilized during the testing procedure, and learning occurs during a single day of training.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

New and worsening conditions and change in physical and cognitive performance during weekly evaluations over 6 months: the Women's Health and Aging Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the large burden of chronic disease in older persons, especially those with disability, little research has documented changes in symptomatology over short periods of time. Additionally, although it has been demonstrated that medical conditions strongly affect functional level, short-term worsening in condition status has not been investigated for its impact on functional change. METHODS: In a substudy of the Women's Health and Aging Study, 102 women with mild to severe disability received weekly home visits over a 6-month period. Each week they were queried as to the onset of 14 acute, generally self-limited conditions and the worsening or new diagnosis of 12 chronic conditions (condition reporting). They also received a battery of physical and cognitive performance tests. RESULTS: There was a high rate of condition reporting over 24 weekly interviews. Nearly all women reported acute and episodic conditions; the average number of weeks of reporting one or more conditions was 11.8 per woman. For chronic conditions, the average number of weeks of reporting worsening of one or more conditions was 5.2 per woman. Multiple reports of onset or worsening of specific conditions were common, especially for arthritis of the hands, hips, knees, or feet; urinary problems; dizziness or unsteadiness on feet; and back pain. The total number of condition reports and number of weeks of condition reporting were generally not associated with an individual's slope of change in performance tests. For specific conditions, there were generally small and nonsignificant changes in performance in those who reported onset or worsening after 3 or more weeks of not reporting this. CONCLUSIONS: Older disabled women frequently report the onset or worsening of acute and chronic conditions. In weekly observations, these conditions are not related to changes in physical and cognitive performance measures. Possible reasons for this are that (a) condition reporting may not be valid, (b) changes or severity of conditions were of insufficient magnitude to affect functioning, or (c) performance measures are not sensitive to the kinds of changes in chronic and acute conditions that affect people from week to week. We concluded that performance measures are not useful in monitoring modest, short-term changes in health status, but may still be valuable for assessing more major changes in health and functioning over time.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Physiological strains in hot-humid conditions while wearing disposable protective clothing commonly used by the asbestos removal industry.

The purpose of this study is to investigate workers' responses to work in hot-humid conditions while wearing protective clothing commonly used by the asbestos removal industry, and to evaluate the effects of resting between work bouts in a cool environment on the physiological strain. Seven male students wearing impermeable protective clothing and air masks were exposed to the following conditions for 100 min on separate days: (1) hot conditions (35 degrees C/85%RH), (2) cool conditions (20 degrees C/85%RH), and (3) hot/cool conditions (working in hot conditions and resting in cool conditions). After 12 min rest, the subjects worked on an ergometer (70 Watts) for 18 min. This experimental schedule was repeated three times under each environmental condition. Rectal temperature (Tre), heart rate (HR), sweat rate (SR) and discomfort sensation were recorded. Two of the subjects were not able to complete the experiment in hot conditions. The increases in Tre and HR with time were not found in cool conditions. Although Tre increased in hot/cool conditions, it was almost half of that in hot conditions. Since HR did not return to the pre-work level during recovery in hot conditions, HR during work was accompanied by increases in HR at pre-work. HR during work in hot/cool conditions was higher than that in cool conditions, HR at pre-work, however, was almost the same as that in cool conditions because of rapid recovery. The means of SR in hot and hot/cool conditions were five and four times greater than that in cool conditions, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

Hippocampal and cerebellar single-unit activity during delay and trace eyeblink conditioning in the rat.

In delay eyeblink conditioning, the CS overlaps with the US and only a brainstem-cerebellar circuit is necessary for learning. In trace eyeblink conditioning, the CS ends before the US is delivered and several forebrain structures, including the hippocampus, are required for learning, in addition to a brainstem-cerebellar circuit. The interstimulus interval (ISI) between CS onset and US onset is perhaps the most important factor in classical conditioning, but studies comparing delay and trace conditioning have typically not matched these procedures in this crucial factor, so it is often difficult to determine whether results are due to differences between delay and trace or to differences in ISI. In the current study, we employed a 580-ms CS-US interval for both delay and trace conditioning and compared hippocampal CA1 activity and cerebellar interpositus nucleus activity in order to determine whether a unique signature of trace conditioning exists in patterns of single-unit activity in either structure. Long-Evans rats were chronically implanted in either CA1 or interpositus with microwire electrodes and underwent either delay eyeblink conditioning, or trace eyeblink conditioning with a 300-ms trace period between CS offset and US onset. On trials with a CR in delay conditioning, CA1 pyramidal cells showed increases in activation (relative to a pre-CS baseline) during the CS-US period in sessions 1-4 that was attenuated by sessions 5-6. In contrast, on trials with a CR in trace conditioning, CA1 pyramidal cells did not show increases in activation during the CS-US period until sessions 5-6. In sessions 5-6, increases in activation were present only to the CS and not during the trace period. For rats with interpositus electrodes, activation of interpositus neurons on CR trials was present in all sessions in both delay and trace conditioning. However, activation was greater in trace compared to delay conditioning in the first half of the CS-US interval (during the trace CS) during early sessions of conditioning and, in later sessions of conditioning, activation was greater in the second half of the CS-US interval (during the trace interval). These results suggest that the pattern of hippocampal activation that differentiates trace from delay eyeblink conditioning is a slow buildup of activation to the CS, possibly representing encoding of CS duration or discrimination of the CS from the background context. Interpositus nucleus neurons show strong modeling of the eyeblink CR regardless of paradigm but show a changing pattern across conditioning that may be due to the necessary contributions of forebrain processing to trace conditioning.

Action Potentials↗

Aversive conditioning of periodic spontaneous erection adversely affects sexual behavior and semen in stallions.

Periodic spontaneous erection and penile movements known as masturbation (SEAM) occur normally at approximately 90 min intervals in awake equids. SEAM in horses has traditionally been misunderstood by many horsemen as aberrant behavior that should be eliminated. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for trainers of performance stallions or managers of breeding stallions to punish SEAM in an attempt to eliminate the behavior. Previous clinical observations and preliminary unsystematic trials had suggested that attempts to stop stallion SEAM may lead to an increase rather than a decrease in SEAM, and at the same time may suppress sexual behavior (SB) in a breeding stallion. The present work evaluated the effects of aversive conditioning of SEAM on SEAM, SB, and semen. In Experiment 1, four mature pony stallions were subjected to aversive conditioning of SEAM in a within- and between-subjects half cross-over design. The SEAM erection interval tended to be less after aversive conditioning, suggesting an increase in SEAM frequency. Eleven other SEAM measures were each similar before and after aversive conditioning of SEAM. In standard sexual behavior trials with a stimulus mare and dummy mount, erection latency, ejaculation latency, mount readiness latency, and number of mounts to ejaculation increased after aversive conditioning of SEAM; erection rigidity score, number of ejaculatory pulses, and vocalization rate decreased. Number of thrusts to ejaculation was similar before and after aversive conditioning of SEAM. All affected SB measures indicated suppressed sexual arousal and breeding efficiency after SEAM. In Experiment 1, ejaculated semen was not evaluated. Because in Experiment 1, the number of ejaculatory urethral pulses was less after aversive conditioning, Experiment 2 was similarly designed, but included evaluation of semen, both immediately and again 1 week after aversive conditioning was completed. Experiment 2 included 12 aversively conditioned stallions, and 4 yoked controls. In Experiment 2, masturbation episode duration tended to be less after aversive conditioning, while the remaining 11 SEAM measures were unaffected by aversive conditioning of SEAM. Of SB measures, erection latency, mount readiness latency, thrusts to ejaculation, and ejaculation latency were significantly greater after aversive conditioning. Erection rigidity score and number of ejaculatory pulses were less after aversive conditioning. These differences are consistent with suppressed sexual arousal and reduced breeding efficiency. Semen volume and total number of sperm per ejaculate were significantly less after aversive conditioning. These findings are consistent with clinical anecdotes and preliminary trials indicating that aversive conditioning of SEAM in stallions suppresses sexual arousal and breeding behavior. Of considerable interest both clinically and theoretically, is the finding that aversive conditioning target behavior of SEAM was not suppressed by aversive conditioning, while SB and semen during semen collection trials were both adversely affected.

Animals↗

Conditioned augmentation of natural killer cell activity. Independence from nociceptive effects and dependence on interferon-beta.

Injection of mice with 20 micrograms polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) after exposure to camphor odor results in a conditioned augmentation of natural killer cell (NK) activity. In this study, we show that the conditioned response is not the result of nociceptive stimulation and that interferon-beta (IFN), but not IFN-alpha can replace Poly I:C as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Two conditioned stimuli (CS) were used with equivalent results. A combination CS consisting of a novel taste (saccharin) and a 125 mg/kg injection of LiCl that induces gastric upset was paired with a Poly I:C or IFN-beta (1 X 10(4) IU) injection. This resulted in an augmentation of NK activity when the conditioned animals were reexposed to the saccharin-LiCl CS. In addition, an identical conditioned response was elicited when a camphor odor CS was paired with either of these US. To test whether the conditioned response might be an artifact not detected by our controls, a mock conditioning experiment was performed, which assessed the differential effect of multiple exposures to the saccharin-LiCl CS without a CS/US pairing. The mock conditioned group was significantly suppressed relative to saline treated controls, whereas the mock nonconditioned group and the mock conditioned group that was not reexposed to the CS after conditioning did not show significant suppression. This indicates that the augmentation observed in the conditioned group after CS/US pairing was not the result of exposure to the CS itself. Small doses of Poly I:C (5 micrograms or 2.5 micrograms) given on days 3 and 5 (or on day 5 only) to boost NK activity had the effect of increasing the magnitude of the conditioned response measured on day 6. In addition, an identical conditioned response was observed when the interval between the CS/US pairing and the later CS exposures was changed, which places the test for the conditioned response either on day 6 (CS given on days 3 and 5) or day 10 (CS given on days 7 and 9). These results show that the observed conditioned enhancement of NK activity in conditioned animals is not caused by any nociceptive properties of the CS itself and is dependent on the IFN-beta produced after Poly I:C injection in the conditioned paradigm.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Conditioning of aversion to an odor paired with peripheral shock in the developing rat.

Four experiments examined an apparent inability to associate, or severe deficiency in associating, an odor and a footshock during the first 2 weeks of life in the rat, a cue-to-consequence relationship that had formerly seemed age-dependent. With a particular classical conditioning procedure, however, significant conditioning occurred on postnatal Days 6 and 10 with relatively few conditioning trials; the procedure employed an odor explicitly unpaired with footshock (CS-), as well as an odor paired with footshock (CS+) (Experiment I). Experiment II assessed the contribution of a CS- exposure in the conditioning of rats 8, 15, or 50 days of age. For 8-day-olds, exposure to both the CS+ and CS- resulted in conditioned aversion to the CS+ after eight but not one conditioning trials, but neither 1 nor eight trials with only a CS+ produced conditioning. For 15- and 50-day-olds, conditioning to the CS+ odor was significant after one trial with, but not without, a specific CS-; with eight trials, however, conditioning was significant with or without the specific CS-. It was verified with the 50-day-olds in Experiment III that aversion to the CS+ was conditioned with a single trial only if a CS- had been presented, with a slight trend toward superior conditioning if the CS- preceded rather than followed the CS+ during conditioning. Experiment IV tested the hypothesis that exposure to the distinctive CS- odor sensitizes the animal to the specific properties of the CS+ odor. Fifteen and 50-day-old rats were given one conditioning trial with a CS+ odor that was either unaccompanied by a CS- or that was presented with a CS- odor in the same context as the CS+ or in a different context. For both 15- and 50-day-old rats, conditioning to the CS+ occurred only for animals given the CS- in the same context as the CS+, indicating that the hypothesis should be rejected. The results generally indicate rapid and substantial odor-footshock conditioning in rats as young as 6 days of age, with CS- exposure established as perhaps especially significant for conditioning early in life, but important for rats of all ages tested, from infancy to adulthood.

Aging↗

The effects of water deprivation on conditioned freezing to contextual cues and to a tone in rats.

In two experiments we used an automated system for quantifying freezing responses in rats to replicate and extend Maren et al. (Maren S, DeCola JP, Fanselow MS. Water deprivation enhances fear conditioning to contextual, but not discrete, conditional stimuli in rats. Behav Neurosci 1994;108:645-9; Maren S, DeCola JP, Swain RA, Fanselow MS, Thompson RF. Parallel augmentation of hippocampal long-term potentiation, theta rhythm and contextual fear conditioning in water deprived rats. Behav Neurosci 1994;108:44-57) who found that water deprivation in rats produced a selective enhancement in conditioning to context, as opposed to conditioning to a tone. In experiment 1 we gave water deprived and non-deprived rats either three or ten pairings of a tone and foot shock. During conditioning water deprivation decreased overall freezing only in rats that received ten pairings. On 2 subsequent days we assessed conditioned freezing (1) to the contextual cues of the conditioning chamber and (2) to the tone when presented in a distinctive, novel environment. We found, in direct contrast to Maren et al. (Maren S, DeCola JP, Fanselow MS. Water deprivation enhances fear conditioning to contextual, but not discrete, conditional stimuli in rats. Behav Neurosci 1994;108:645-9), that (a) water deprived rats did not differ from non-deprived rats in levels of conditioned contextual freezing and that (b) water deprived rats did show reduced levels of freezing to the tone stimulus. In the same experiment we found that the number of tone-shock pairings did not affect levels of conditioned contextual freezing but that rats that had received three pairings did show reduced levels of freezing to the tone stimulus compared with rats that had received ten pairings, thereby demonstrating that the behavioural procedure and analysis system that we used was appropriately sensitive to differences in conditioning. In experiment 2, therefore, we sought to replicate Maren et al. (Maren S, DeCola JP, Fanselow MS. Water deprivation enhances fear conditioning to contextual, but not discrete, conditional stimuli in rats. Behav Neurosci 1994;108:645-9) using, as far as possible, exactly the same procedural parameters. Here we found that water deprivation produced no effects on conditioned freezing to the contextual cues or to the tone. We conclude that there is sufficient reason to doubt the generality of the previously reported findings.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Comparing excitatory backward and forward conditioning.

Three Pavlovian lick suppression studies with rats were conducted to compare the role of the conditioning context in excitatory backward and forward conditioning. The experiments explored the possibility that excitatory backward conditioning, but not forward conditioning, is mediated by the context. That is, in excitatory backward conditioning, the conditioning context may function as an excitatory mediator, which supports second-order conditioning of the target cue. This possibility contrasts with traditional accounts, which suggests that common processes underlie excitatory backward and forward conditioning. Experiment 1 found that conditioned responding following backward conditioning was attenuated as a result of posttraining extinction of the training context, but the same manipulation elevated responding after forward conditioning. Experiments 2 and 3 found that posttraining and pretraining associative inflation of the context (presenting unsignalled USs) increased conditioned responding to the target of a backward conditioning procedure but either had no effect or reduced responding to the target of a forward conditioning procedure. Thus, excitatory backward and forward conditioning appear to differ in their dependence on the status of the conditioning context.

Analysis of Variance↗

Conditioned nausea after cancer chemotherapy and autonomic nervous system conditionability.

There are marked individual differences in conditioned nausea after cancer chemotherapy. To examine if part of this variation is associated with individual differences in autonomic nervous system conditionability, the present study addressed whether patients with conditioned nausea acquired conditioned heart rate and electrodermal responses at a different rate than patients without conditioned nausea. Of 28 relapse-free patients who had completed cisplatinum treatment for testicular cancer between 1981 and 1986, 10 reported persistent conditioned nausea, 8 extinguished conditioned nausea and 10 no conditioned nausea. These three groups were subjected to a differential conditioning paradigm with 8 sec pictorial stimuli (circles and triangles) serving as conditioned stimuli for an unconditioned electric shock while heart rate and electrodermal activity was monitored. There were 4 habituation, 8 acquisition and 8 extinction trials with each of the two cues. Analyses of variance using nausea status as the independent variable and physiological responses as the dependent lended some support to the notion that conditioned heart rate deceleration developed in response to the reinforced compared to the nonreinforced cue during acquisition in the two groups with persistent or extinguished conditioned nausea but not in the group with no conditioned nausea. In addition, patients that displayed good, as compared to poor heart rate conditionability during acquisition, were more likely to have persistent conditioned nausea, whereas those who showed poor heart rate conditioning mostly were those without conditioned nausea. Electrodermal variables revealed no systematic differences between groups. This tentatively supports that individual differences in parasympathetic but not sympathetic nervous system conditionability may be associated with individual differences in conditioned nausea resulting from cancer chemotherapy.

Adult↗

Do mental disorders matter? A study of absenteeism among care seeking Gulf War veterans with ill defined conditions and musculoskeletal disorders.

AIMS: To investigate the extent that common psychological conditions contribute to lost work among individuals with musculoskeletal and ill defined conditions. METHODS: Cross sectional health and work related survey evaluating Gulf War veterans seeking Department of Defense health care for Gulf War related health concerns. Ordered probit models were used to study whether a provider diagnosed musculoskeletal condition (ICD-9 codes 710-739) or "signs, symptoms, and ill defined conditions" (ICD-9 codes 780-799) have an effect on recent lost work over the previous 90 days in the presence of one or more psychological conditions (ICD-9 codes 290-320) after controlling for sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Bivariate analyses revealed that musculoskeletal conditions, ill defined conditions, and psychological conditions were positively associated with lost work. Multivariate analyses showed an independent effect of both psychological conditions and musculoskeletal conditions. A significant interaction existed between psychological conditions and musculoskeletal conditions: the presence of a coexisting psychological condition considerably increased the likelihood that a musculoskeletal disorder resulted in lost work, or vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological conditions appear to be an important contributor to absenteeism among individuals with musculoskeletal and ill defined conditions. A limitation of the cross sectional design was the inability to sequence the onset of conditions.

Absenteeism↗