The Isolation of Motivational, Motoric, and Schedule Effects on Operant Performance: A Modeling Approach

Autor/inn/en	Brackney, Ryan J.; Cheung, Timothy H. C.; Neisewander, Janet L.; Sanabria, Federico
Titel	The Isolation of Motivational, Motoric, and Schedule Effects on Operant Performance: A Modeling Approach
Quelle	In: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 96 (2011) 1, S.17-38 (22 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-5002
Schlagwörter	Intervals; Reinforcement; Behavior; Operant Conditioning; Pharmacology; Animals; Goodness of Fit + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Positive Verstärkung; Operante Konditionierung; Arzneikunde; Animal; Tier; Tiere
Abstract	Dissociating motoric and motivational effects of pharmacological manipulations on operant behavior is a substantial challenge. To address this problem, we applied a response-bout analysis to data from rats trained to lever press for sucrose on variable-interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement. Motoric, motivational, and schedule factors (effort requirement, deprivation level, and schedule requirements, respectively) were manipulated. Bout analysis found that interresponse times (IRTs) were described by a mixture of two exponential distributions, one characterizing IRTs within response bouts, another characterizing intervals between bouts. Increasing effort requirement lengthened the shortest IRT (the refractory period between responses). Adding a ratio requirement increased the length and density of response bouts. Both manipulations also decreased the bout-initiation rate. In contrast, food deprivation only increased the bout-initiation rate. Changes in the distribution of IRTs over time showed that responses during extinction were also emitted in bouts, and that the decrease in response rate was primarily due to progressively longer intervals between bouts. Taken together, these results suggest that changes in the refractory period indicate motoric effects, whereas selective alterations in bout initiation rate indicate incentive-motivational effects. These findings support the use of response-bout analyses to identify the influence of pharmacological manipulations on processes underlying operant performance. (Contains 2 footnotes, 9 tables, and 6 figures.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Available from: Indiana University Department of Psychology. Bloomington, IN 47405-1301. Tel: 812-334-0395; FAX: 812-855-4691; e-mail: jeab@indiana.edu; Web site: http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jeab/index.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10