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At least 1,351 records · Page 75Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Sensory reinforcement: effects of response-contingent vestibular stimulation on multiply handicapped children.

The reinforcing properties of vestibular stimulation were investigated, including the relative preference for vestibular stimulation and food, praise, visual, and auditory stimulation. Five multiply handicapped, severely retarded young children were trained to operate a pressure-sensitive adaptive switch to gain access to a given reinforcer during successive intervention phases. The results suggest that vestibular stimulation was reinforcing to all subjects. Vestibular stimulation appeared to be the preferred reinforcer for 4 of the 5 children. Results were discussed relative to the movement deprivation experienced by nonambulatory children. Possible implications for programming efforts were described.

Child↗
PubMed1978

The effects of reinforcement and strategy training on impulsive responding.

Impulsive second-grade children received strategy training or strategy training combined with primary or secondary reinforcement. All training groups showed significantly longer response latencies and significantly fewer errors on the Matching Familiar Figures test immediately following training. The reinforcement groups had significantly longer latencies than the training-only group, and there was some indication that primary reinforcement was more effective than secondary reinforcement in producing response delay. The 3 training groups did not differ significantly on error scores.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1977

A programmed training technique that uses reinforcement to facilitate acquisition and retention in brain-damaged patients.

Hospitalized brain-damaged patients were Ss in a study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment technique used with contingent reinforcement to facilitate acquisition and retention of environmentally relevant information. Ss were divided into three groups that were equated diagnostically and demographically. Group I received the treatment technique with contingent material and verbal reinforcement. Group II received the treatment technique with only contingent verbal reinforcement, and Group III was a control. Both treatment groups showed significant acquisition of the experimental information, and 1 week after training the two treatment groups showed no significant loss of acquired information. None of the groups showed any significant change in ward behavior during the experiment. It was concluded that the treatment technique used with contingent reinforcement can be used in the retraining of memory in brain-damaged patients.

Achievement↗
PubMed1982

Effects of reinforcement, proximity, and orientation on verbal behavior of female schizophrenics.

Evaluated effects of reinforcement, proximity, and orientation on verbal behavior of female schizophrenics. Sixty-four inpatient state hospital volunteers (36 schizophrenics and 33 hospitalized controls) either were reinforced verbally or nonreinforced for construction of appropriate sentences. Also, participants were exposed to near or far proximity as well as direct or indirect orientation. Results indicated that schizophrenics performed best in the indirect orientation condition. While no differential group effects were seen across diagnosis, participants on the average responded more effectively when reinforced. These findings are contradictory to those reported in earlier studies of verbal conditioning in schizophrenics. Discussed were the detrimental effects of attentional demands on verbal conditioning in schizophrenics and the effectiveness of verbal reinforcement across hospitalized patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Group modification of affective verbalizations: reinforcement and therapist style effects.

Used an operant group paradigm to investigate the effects of reinforcement in combination with differing therapist styles upon affective verbalizations. Therapists' usage of direct questioning to elicit Ss' affective verbalizations proved quantitatively superior (in number of reinforceable responses) to either a no therapist or role modelling therapist condition (N = 72). There was evidence, however, that Ss in reinforced role modelling conditions were significantly better than direct elicitation Ss in predicting other group members' self-descriptions and in the degree to which Ss felt accurately perceived by others, while the reverse was true for non-reinforced Ss.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Effects of positive and negative reinforcement on daily living skills in chronic psychiatric patients in community residences.

The effects of contingent positive and negative reinforcement on adaptive behavior and mood were examined in a sample of 36 chronic, psychiatric outpatients. Group 1 received contingent positive token reinforcement to improve daily living skills, group 2 received a negative reinforcement procedure based on removal of free-tokens, and group 3 was a no-treatment control. Subjects were assessed via a weekly daily living checklist and were pre- and posttested on the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Significant differences were found between the control and treatment groups on both total activities of daily living and among five individual targeted behaviors. Mood states did not differ among the groups, which indicates benign effects of negative reinforcement. The findings of this study are relevant to the treatment of the serious and persistently mentally ill.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1980

Learning, using natural reinforcements, in insect preparations that permit cellular neuronal analysis.

A general paradigm is described that permits testing the ability of an arthropod to learn (by operant conditioning) to alter the position of a single leg segment in order to relate to behaviorally appropriate reinforcement. The paradigm was designed so that intracellular recording from identified neurons involved would be possible during the training of a locust or grasshopper, for which extensive neuron maps are available. As a prelude to such studies, electromyograms were made from the antagonistic muscles that move the conditioned limb, which in the present experiments was the tibia of the metathoracic leg. Negative (aversive) reinforcement was provided by a loud sound/vibration and positive (reward) reinforcement by food in the form of sugar-water or fresh-growing grass. In the aversive reinforcement experiments the sound, which reflexly caused flexion, was on continually except when the tibia of one hind leg was voluntarily placed in an electronically set position "window" displaced, in extension, away from the preferred position. In feeding experiments, food was brought automatically to the mouth by a motor-driven arm when the tibia was held within a position window set away from the preferred position in either extension or flexion. Whole or headless insects learned to turn off the sound permanently, except for sporadic brief interruptions, by tonic shifting of tibial position. Insects learned to bring food to the mouth by modifying the plateau phase of a position displacement lasting for a few minutes, that was found to occur from time to time also in controls. In aversive learning, minimum times to turn off the sound were 22 sec for the easiest position and 4 min for the most difficult. The longest time in the easiest position was 1 min 40 sec and in the most difficult 39 min; excluding measurement for individuals that did not learn. In reward learning, the minimum time in the easiest position was just under 1 min, and 12 min in the most difficult position. The longest times were about 8 hr regardless of difficulty.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Characterization of the effects of bupropion on the reinforcing properties of nicotine and food in rats.

Bupropion is an atypical antidepressant drug that is the only nonnicotine-based prescription medicine approved for smoking cessation by the Food and Drug Administration. The aim of the present experiments was to investigate the effects of bupropion (5-40 mg/kg) on the reinforcing properties of nicotine and food in rats. The effects of bupropion were studied under two schedules of reinforcement: a fixed ratio 5 time-out 20-sec (FR5 TO20 s) and a progressive ratio (PR). Rats were trained to respond for nicotine (0.01 or 0.03 mg/kg/infusion, free base) or food under the FR5 TO20 s schedule. Pretreatment with the highest dose of bupropion (40 mg/kg) resulted in a significant reduction (approximately 50%) of nicotine intake in rats self-administering 0.03 mg/kg/infusion of nicotine. The same dose of bupropion also decreased (approximately 40%) the self-administration of 0.01 mg/kg/infusion of nicotine, but this effect did not reach statistical significance. Pretreatment with bupropion slightly (approximately 15%) reduced responding for food under the FR5 TO20 s schedule. Finally, pretreatment with bupropion did not affect the self-administration of nicotine (0.03 mg/kg/infusion) under a PR schedule, but dose-dependently increased responding for food under the same PR schedule. These findings indicate that a high dose of bupropion decreases the reinforcing properties of nicotine as measured under an FR schedule, while having no apparent effects on breaking points for nicotine under a PR schedule that reflects both the reinforcing properties and the motivation to obtain nicotine.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

In vivo comparison of the reinforcing and dopamine transporter effects of local anesthetics in rhesus monkeys.

Dopaminergic mechanisms are thought to play a central role in the reinforcing effects of cocaine. Similar to cocaine, other local anesthetics bind to the dopamine transporter (DAT) and inhibit DA uptake in rodent and monkey brain. Additionally, local anesthetics are self-administered in rhesus monkeys, indicative of abuse liability. The present study examined the reinforcing and DAT effects of the local anesthetics dimethocaine, procaine and cocaine using in vivo techniques. Monkeys were trained to respond under a second-order schedule for i.v. cocaine administration (0.10 or 0.30 mg/kg/infusion). When responding was stable, dimethocaine (0.030-1.7 mg/kg/ infusion) or procaine (0.10-10 mg/kg/ infusion) was substituted for the cocaine training dose. Dimethocaine administration produced higher response rates compared with that of procaine, and was a more potent reinforcer. Drug effects on behavior were related to DAT occupancy in monkey striatum during neuroimaging with positron emission tomography (PET). DAT occupancy was determined by displacement of 8-(2-[(18)F]fluroethyl)2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-chlorophenyl)nortropane (FECNT). DAT occupancy was between 66 and 82% and <10-41% for doses of dimethocaine and procaine that maintained maximum response rates, respectively. Finally, in vivo microdialysis in awake subjects determined drug-induced changes in extracellular DA in the caudate nucleus. There was close correspondence between peak increases in DA and DAT occupancy. Overall, reinforcing effects were consistent with DAT effects determined with in vivo techniques. The results further support a role for the DAT in the abuse liability of local anesthetics.

Aminobenzoates↗
PubMed1985

Resistance to extinction after schedules of partial delay or partial reinforcement in rats with hippocampal lesions.

Two experimental procedures were employed to establish the reason why hippocampal lesions apparently block the development of tolerance for aversive events in partial reinforcement experiments, but do not do so in partial punishment experiments. Rats were trained to run in a straight alley following hippocampal lesions (HC), cortical control lesions (CC) or sham operations (SO), and resistance to extinction was assessed following differing acquisition conditions. In Experiment 1 a 4-8 min inter-trial interval (ITI) was used. Either every acquisition trial was rewarded immediately (Continuous Reinforcement, CR), or only a randomly selected half of the trials were immediately rewarded, the reward being delayed for thirty seconds on the other trials (Partial Delay, PD). This delay procedure produced increased resistance to extinction in rats in all lesion groups. In Experiment 2 the ITI was reduced to a few seconds, and rats were trained either on a CR schedule, or on a schedule in which only half the trials were rewarded (Partial Reinforcement, PR). This form of partial reinforcement procedure also produced increased resistance to extinction in rats in all lesion groups. It thus appears that hippocampal lesions only prevent the development of resistance to aversive events when the interval between aversive and subsequent appetitive events exceeds some minimum value.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Effects of monoamine oxidase inhibitors on performance during differential reinforcement of low response rate.

The effects of three monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) on performance under a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 72-s schedule (DRL 72-s) for water reinforcement were determined. All three drugs (isocarboxazid, iproniazid, phenelzine) reduced response rate and increased reinforcement rate in rats performing under the DRL schedule. Drugs from other classes (alcohol, chlordiazepoxide, morphine, pentobarbital) did not produce similar effects. The ability of MAOI to increase reinforcement rate under a DRL 72-s schedule is similar to that recently reported for tricyclic antidepressants and the two atypical antidepressants mianserin and iprindole. These findings support the contention that the DRL schedule may be useful as a test for identifying new antidepressants and for elucidating the neurochemical effects of antidepressants that are responsible for their therapeutic actions.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Differential effects of dopaminergic agonists on food-reinforced operant behavior in the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis).

Dopaminergic involvement in the regulation of operant behavior was examined by monitoring responding after administration of different dopaminergic agonists. A chain schedule of reinforcement was used to classify the effects of these agonists in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). The schedule included the following: (1) a 30-s time-out period; (2) a clock-cued 30-s period of differential reinforcement of zero-response rate; (3) a time-in period whose duration depended on response latency; (4) a 2-s reinforcement period in which applesauce was delivered. This cycling schedule maintained a low operant rate and was sensitive to both inhibition (decreases) and excitation (increases) of responding. IV injection of the dopaminergic agonists resulted in the following two basic effects: (1) d-amphetamine and amfonelic acid disrupted performance by response inhibition, which was shown not to be attributable to anorexia; (2) apomorphine and bromocriptine disrupted performance by response excitation. Both effects were reduced by pretreatment with trifluperidol, a dopaminergic antagonist. The results, indicating that dopaminergic systems mediate disruption of food-reinforced operant behavior by altering the frequency of responding, are interpreted in terms of the known neuropharmacological actions of the agonists.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Fenfluramine and N-ethyl amphetamine: comparison of the reinforcing and rate-decreasing actions in the rhesus monkey.

N-ethyl amphetamine HCl (NEA) and fenfluramine HCl (meta-trifluoromethyl N-ethyl amphetamine) were evaluated as reinforcers in rhesus monkeys that had been previously trained to press a lever using food presentations and cocaine HCl injections as reinforcers. Each daily session consisted of episodic opportunities to obtain reinforcers under a fixed-ratio schedule of 30. A drug period was interpolated between two periods in which lever-press responding was maintained by food presentations. Compared to saline, none of the drugs altered the rate of responding in the food periods which preceded the drug sessions, indicating the absence of residual response-disrupting drug actions from previous sessions. However, NEA and fenfluramine self-injection resulted in dose-related decreases in response rates during the food periods which immediately followed the drug sessions. Cocaine HCl (30 mug/kg/injection) maintained high response rates at over one response/second during the drug periods, as did the same dose of NEA. Doses of 10 and 100 mug/kg/injection of NEA as well as all doses of fenfluramine HCl (10 through 300 mug/kg/injection) maintained rates that were not different from those associated with saline injections. These results substantiate and extend earlier findings with fenfluramine and indicate that its failure to act as a reinforcer is attributable to its meta-trifluoromethyl group.

Amphetamines↗
PubMed1981

Reinstatement of cocaine-reinforced responding in the rat.

Non-contingent "priming" drug injections and conditioned stimuli associated with drug injections led to reinstatement of responding after a period of extinction. Rats implanted with intravenous catheters were trained to self-administer cocaine 1 mg/kg/injection), and then given daily test sessions consisting of a period of self-administration followed by extinction conditions. Test drug injections or conditioned stimuli were presented during extinction and the latency to the first response and the total number of responses following the treatment were measured. Cocaine injections of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg restored responding during extinction, regardless of the duration of the extinction period (between 10 min and 180 min) since drug self-administration. Amphetamine, apomorphine, and morphine but not ethanol, heroin, or methohexital reinstated previously cocaine-reinforced responding. Amphetamine, cocaine, and morphine did not increase responding in animals trained to bar press only for food reinforcement, suggesting that the reinstatement effect is specific to drug-reinforced responses. The statement effect is specific to drug-reinforced responses. The final experiment showed that a tone that had been paired with drug infusions acquired a statistically significant tendency to facilitate responding when tested during extinction but this effect disappeared after the first test presentation of the tone.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The effects of pimozide on the establishment of conditioned reinforcement as a function of the amount of conditioning.

In an attempt to understand some inconsistent findings, the present experiment investigated the effects of pimozide, a dopamine (DA) receptor blocker, on the establishment of conditioned reinforcement as a function of the amount of conditioning. In Experiment 1, rats received three phases of training in a two-lever box. The pre-exposure phase measured the operant rates of pressing the levers; one produced a 3-s tone and the other turned the lights off for 3 s. In the conditioning phase, with the levers absent, the light-off stimulus was paired with food for two or four sessions. The test phase again measured the rate of pressing the levers. Conditioned reinforcement was shown by a relative increase in responding on the light lever during the test. Of the groups receiving four conditioning sessions, pimozide (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent attenuation of conditioned reinforcement, those rats treated with 4.0 mg/kg failing to demonstrate a significant effect. When 2 conditioning days were employed, pimozide treatment also produced a dose-dependent attenuation; however, in these less conditioned animals 2.0 mg/kg blocked the effect. The possibility that pimozide produced a conditioned taste aversion to the food was ruled out in Experiment 2. These data suggest that DA transmission may be necessary for the establishment of conditioned reinforcement and that the effects of receptor blockade may be related to the amount of conditioning.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Effects of drug-induced differences in reinforcement frequency on discriminative stimulus properties of fentanyl.

Rats were trained to discriminate between fentanyl (0.04 mg/kg) and saline in a two-lever procedure. Using a FR 10 schedule of food reinforcement, drug-induced differences between the number of reinforcers obtained under fentanyl and saline conditions were observed. The effect of eliminating these differences on the outcome of generalization tests was investigated by different manipulations. In one group (N = 10), the FR 10 schedule used during saline sessions was changed to FR 6 during drug sessions. In a second group (N = 12), saline sessions ended after the number of reinforcers obtained was equal to the number obtained during the preceding drug session. A control group (N = 10) was trained using a FR 10 schedule under both conditions. Elimination of differences in reinforcement frequency accelerated the acquisition of the discrimination, diminished response bias, flattened the slope and reduced the ED50 value of generalization gradients of fentanyl, morphine and sufentanil and increased the ED50 value of naloxone in antagonizing 0.04 mg/kg fentanyl. It is concluded that the unconditioned effects of 0.04 mg/kg fentanyl on response rate in a FR 10 procedure lead to differences between saline and drug sessions which contribute to the apparent discriminative stimulus properties of fentanyl.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Alcohol-associated conditioned reinforcement.

Research was conducted to examine the ability of alcohol to impart conditioned reinforcement. Rats were allowed to self-administer solutions of either saline or alcohol (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg/infusion) by the intragastric route. Superimposed on the infusion interval was a buzzer (conditioned reinforcing stimulus). Tests during extinction revealed that conditioned reinforcement had been acquired. Results also indicated that as the paired unit dose was increased, potency of the conditioned reinforcer increased. In a second study, the lever-pressing response, which produced saline infusion and the buzzer, became available only subsequent to 5 sessions of pairing the buzzer with infusions of saline or alcohol. The results indicated that lever pressing increased with increasing unit dosage of alcohol infusions in prior pairings.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

A model for reinforcing mental health facilities: a student's view.

Present mental health care facilities are not reinforcing either to work in or to utilize. A new approach to agency design, in order to provide client self-respect and situational relief, to increase availability and accessibility of services, and to attract highly skilled staff should be adopted. The criteria for a reinforcing agency should be based on a client, staff, and community needs. Changes can be implemented by building new facilities or modifying old ones. The resulting facilities would enhance the treatment process, reinforce behavioral change, and reinforce productivity.

Community Mental Health Services↗