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Gomes-Ng S, Baharrizki D, Cowie S, Elliffe D, Bai JYH. Effects of brief post-sample cues signaling presence or absence of reinforcers in delayed matching-to-sample. Behav Processes 2022; 200:104664. [PMID: 35654309 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
When short-term memory is assessed in the delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) procedure, performance is better when cues signal larger reinforcer magnitudes or higher reinforcer probabilities for correct responding. Previous studies demonstrating signaled-magnitude or signaled-probability effects presented cues for a prolonged period during the sample stimulus and/or retention interval. The present study asked whether a signaled-probability effect would occur with brief post-sample cues that signaled the presence or absence of reinforcement. Five pigeons responded in a DMTS task in which sample stimuli were sometimes followed by a 0.5-s cue signaling that reinforcers would either be available or not available in the current trial, and the retention interval varied from 0.5s to 20s. A reliable signaled-probability effect was found when reinforcers were arranged independently and for all correct responses, whereas a smaller, less systematic effect was found when reinforcers were arranged dependently and probabilistically. These findings highlight the importance of reinforcement contingencies and contingency discriminability in remembering, and add to the evidence showing that cues signaling differential reinforcement in DMTS may affect processes during the retention interval and comparison phase, rather than attention to the sample stimulus.
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Kendricks DR, Newland MC. Selective dopaminergic effects on attention and memory in male mice exposed to Methylmercury during adolescence. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2021; 87:107016. [PMID: 34274440 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2021.107016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Gestational exposure to methylmercury disrupts dopamine-mediated behavior and produces heightened sensitivity to monoamine agonists later in life. This has been reported and replicated following both pre- and post-natal exposure. Impacts of methylmercury when exposure occurs during the sensitive period of adolescence, a key period of dopaminergic development, remain underexplored. There have been variable results thus far in studies investigating links between adolescent exposure to methylmercury and alterations in executive function and altered sensitivity to monoamine agonists. The current study was designed to investigate adolescent exposure by exposing male mice to 0, 0.3, or 3 ppm methylmercury during adolescence and training them in a hybrid task to assess two executive functions, attention and memory, in adulthood. Behavior in these animals was probed with a range of doses of the dopamine agonist, d-amphetamine, and the norepinephrine agonist, desipramine. Attention and memory in these mice were sensitive to disruption by d-amphetamine and interacted with methylmercury exposure. Choice latencies were also longer in the MeHg-exposed mice. Desipramine did not affect behavior in these animals nor did it interact with methylmercury. It is concluded that methylmercury-related inhibition of behavior observed in this study were differentially sensitive to acute disruption in dopamine, but not norepinephrine, neurotransmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalisa R Kendricks
- Department of Psychological Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America.
| | - M Christopher Newland
- Department of Psychological Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America
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Kendricks DR, Boomhower SR, Newland MC. Methylmercury, attention, and memory: baseline-dependent effects of adult d-amphetamine and marginal effects of adolescent methylmercury. Neurotoxicology 2020; 80:130-139. [PMID: 32726658 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2020.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental neurotoxicant known to disrupt behavior related to dopamine neurotransmission in experimental models. Such disruptions are sensitive to dopamine agonists when administered acutely after exposure to MeHg has ended or when administered concurrently with MeHg exposure. Sustained attention and short-term remembering, components of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are partially mediated by dopamine neurotransmission. In order to observe MeHg-related alterations in sustained attention and short-term memory, as well as determine sensitivity of MeHg exposed animals to dopamine agonists commonly used in the treatment of ADHD symptoms, rats were exposed to 0, 0.5, or 5 ppm MeHg throughout adolescence and trained in a hybrid sustained attention/short term memory visual signal detection task in adulthood. Behavior was then probed with acute i.p. injections of the dopamine agonist, d-amphetamine, which improves impaired attention and inhibits short-term memory in clinical syndromes like ADHD. Acute d-amphetamine dose-dependently decreased short-term memory as well as sustained attention. While MeHg alone did not impair accuracy or memory, it did interact with d-amphetamine to produce baseline-dependent inhibition of behavior. These findings further show that changes in behavior following low-level exposure to MeHg during adolescence are augmented by dopamine agonists. Observed impairments in memory following acute d-amphetamine are consistent with previous findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dalisa R Kendricks
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
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4
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Colares Leal TR, Faria Brino AL, Almeida Costa LA, Faria Galvão O, McIlvane WJ. Acquisition and maintenance of delayed matching‐to‐sample in tufted capuchin monkeys. J Exp Anal Behav 2020; 113:549-564. [DOI: 10.1002/jeab.599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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5
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Kendricks DR, Boomhower SR, Arnold MA, Glenn DJ, Newland MC. Adolescent methylmercury exposure alters short-term remembering, but not sustained attention, in male Long-Evans rats. Neurotoxicology 2020; 78:186-194. [PMID: 32199988 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2020.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Methylmercury is an environmental neurotoxicant found in fish that produces behavioral deficits following early developmental exposure. The impact of adolescent exposure to this developmental neurotoxicant is only recently being explored in animal models. Here, short-term memory and sustained attention were examined using a rodent model of adolescent methylmercury exposure. Rats were exposed to 0, 0.5, or 5 ppm methylmercury throughout the adolescent period and tested on a two-choice visual signal detection task in adulthood. Methylmercury improved short-term remembering in this procedure but the dose-effect curve was nonmonotonic, as has been reported previously: effects on memory were observed in animals exposed to 0.5 ppm methylmercury, but not 5 ppm. Methylmercury did not significantly alter sustained attention, which is in contrast to effects following gestational exposure in human populations. The results may suggest that attention is not involved with previously reported effects of methylmercury during adolescence, but certain procedural issues remain unresolved.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Megan A Arnold
- Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Douglas J Glenn
- Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk, VA, United States
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Paul ES, Sher S, Tamietto M, Winkielman P, Mendl MT. Towards a comparative science of emotion: Affect and consciousness in humans and animals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:749-770. [PMID: 31778680 PMCID: PMC6966324 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The componential view of human emotion recognises that affective states comprise conscious, behavioural, physiological, neural and cognitive elements. Although many animals display bodily and behavioural changes consistent with the occurrence of affective states similar to those seen in humans, the question of whether and in which species these are accompanied by conscious experiences remains controversial. Finding scientifically valid methods for investigating markers for the subjective component of affect in both humans and animals is central to developing a comparative understanding of the processes and mechanisms of affect and its evolution and distribution across taxonomic groups, to our understanding of animal welfare, and to the development of animal models of affective disorders. Here, contemporary evidence indicating potential markers of conscious processing in animals is reviewed, with a view to extending this search to include markers of conscious affective processing. We do this by combining animal-focused approaches with investigations of the components of conscious and non-conscious emotional processing in humans, and neuropsychological research into the structure and functions of conscious emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth S Paul
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK.
| | - Shlomi Sher
- Department of Psychology, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - Marco Tamietto
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Piotr Winkielman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA; Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michael T Mendl
- Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK
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7
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Aggio NM, Ducatti M, de Rose JC. Cognition and language in dementia patients: Contributions from behavior analysis. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/bin.1527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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8
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Geoffrey White K. Direct remembering, mediated remembering, and atypical forgetting functions. J Exp Anal Behav 2018; 109:70-86. [DOI: 10.1002/jeab.298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 12/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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9
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Arntzen E. Delayed Matching to Sample: Probability of Responding in Accord with Equivalence as a Function of Different Delays. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/bf03395541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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White KG. Psychophysics of Remembering: The Discrimination Hypothesis. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1467-8721.00187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In a psychophysical approach to remembering, the events to be remembered are discriminated from other possibilities at the time of remembering, and not at the time of encoding or learning. The discrimination is specific to the retention interval at which remembering occurs, as shown by experiments demonstrating that discriminability and response bias are delay–specific. This article discusses a discrimination model for remembering that emphasizes the individual's history of learning about reward payoffs in similar experiences in the past. This model predicts the two characteristics of forgetting functions, initial discriminability and rate of forgetting.
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Cowie S, Davison M, Elliffe D. A model for discriminating reinforcers in time and space. Behav Processes 2016; 127:62-73. [PMID: 27016156 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2015] [Revised: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Both the response-reinforcer and stimulus-reinforcer relation are important in discrimination learning; differential responding requires a minimum of two discriminably-different stimuli and two discriminably-different associated contingencies of reinforcement. When elapsed time is a discriminative stimulus for the likely availability of a reinforcer, choice over time may be modeled by an extension of the Davison and Nevin (1999) model that assumes that local choice strictly matches the effective local reinforcer ratio. The effective local reinforcer ratio may differ from the obtained local reinforcer ratio for two reasons: Because the animal inaccurately estimates times associated with obtained reinforcers, and thus incorrectly discriminates the stimulus-reinforcer relation across time; and because of error in discriminating the response-reinforcer relation. In choice-based timing tasks, the two responses are usually highly discriminable, and so the larger contributor to differences between the effective and obtained reinforcer ratio is error in discriminating the stimulus-reinforcer relation. Such error may be modeled either by redistributing the numbers of reinforcers obtained at each time across surrounding times, or by redistributing the ratio of reinforcers obtained at each time in the same way. We assessed the extent to which these two approaches to modeling discrimination of the stimulus-reinforcer relation could account for choice in a range of temporal-discrimination procedures. The version of the model that redistributed numbers of reinforcers accounted for more variance in the data. Further, this version provides an explanation for shifts in the point of subjective equality that occur as a result of changes in the local reinforcer rate. The inclusion of a parameter reflecting error in discriminating the response-reinforcer relation enhanced the ability of each version of the model to describe data. The ability of this class of model to account for a range of data suggests that timing, like other conditional discriminations, is choice under the joint discriminative control of elapsed time and differential reinforcement. Understanding the role of differential reinforcement is therefore critical to understanding control by elapsed time.
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12
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Cameron KE, McEwan JSA, Temple B. Effect of stimulus and response separation in a matching-to-sample task in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Behav Processes 2015; 118:28-33. [PMID: 25979605 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Revised: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/08/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This study seeks to investigate the impact of changing the proximity of stimulus and response manipulanda on matching-to-sample performance in possums. Possums were presented with five rows of blue and yellow stimuli arranged vertically 25mm apart above response levers. Generally, peak performance occurred at the distance from the lever currently being trained. Performance generalized to distances close to the currently trained distance and decreased in accuracy at distances further from the trained level. The findings from this experiment provide evidence for placing stimuli and response manipulanda close together to improve acquisition of a task, and increase the responding accuracy in MTS experiments. This suggests that spatial contiguity in the relative location of stimuli and response manipulanda is critical to animals performing complex operant tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - James S A McEwan
- The University of Waikato/Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, New Zealand
| | - Bill Temple
- The University of Waikato/Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, New Zealand
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13
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Arntzen E, Vie A. The Expression of Equivalence Classes Influenced by Distractors During DMTS Test Trials. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/15021149.2013.11434453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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14
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15
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Renda CR, Stein JS, Madden GJ. Working-memory training: effects on delay discounting in male Long Evans rats. J Exp Anal Behav 2015; 103:50-61. [PMID: 25418508 PMCID: PMC4314439 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2014] [Accepted: 10/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Delay discounting describes the devaluation of a reward as the delay to the receipt of the reward increases. Because steep delay discounting is robustly correlated with a number of behavioral problems (e.g., substance dependence, gambling) and some evidence suggests steep discounting precedes and predicts drug-taking in humans and rats, this study sought to experimentally reduce rats' delay discounting. Human stimulant-dependent participants given working-memory training reportedly decreased their rates of discounting relative to a sham-training group (Bickel, Yi, Landes, Hill, & Baxter, 2011). To evaluate the cross-species generality of this effect, 38 male Long-Evans rats, matched on pretraining delay-discounting rates, were randomly assigned to receive 140 sessions of working-memory training or sham training (which required no memory of the sample stimulus). Large between-group differences in working memory were observed after training; however, posttraining delay-discounting rates were undifferentiated across groups. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.
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Renda CR, Stein JS, Madden GJ. Impulsive choice predicts poor working memory in male rats. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93263. [PMID: 24732895 PMCID: PMC3986066 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2013] [Accepted: 03/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of maladaptive behaviors and poor health outcomes (e.g., substance abuse, obesity) correlate with impulsive choice, which describes the tendency to prefer smaller, immediate rewards in lieu of larger, delayed rewards. Working memory deficits are often reported in those diagnosed with the same maladaptive behaviors. Human studies suggest that impulsive choice is associated with working memory ability but, to date, only one study has explored the association between working memory and impulsive choice in rats and no relation was reported. The current study reevaluated the association between working memory and impulsive choice in 19 male Long-Evans rats. Psychophysical adjusting procedures were used to quantify working memory (titrating-delay match-to-position procedure) and impulsive choice (adjusting delay procedure). Rats were partitioned into low- and high-impulsive groups based on performance in the impulsive choice task. Low-impulsive rats performed significantly better in the working memory assessment. Across all rats, impulsive choice was negatively correlated with working memory performance. These findings support the hypothesis that prefrontal cortex function, specifically, working memory, is related to impulsive choice. Future research might profitably examine the experimental variables designed to influence working memory to evaluate the effects of these variables on impulsive choice and maladaptive behaviors with which it is correlated.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Renee Renda
- Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Jeffrey S. Stein
- Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
| | - Gregory J. Madden
- Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States of America
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17
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Fryling MJ, Hayes LJ. An Interbehavioral Investigation of Remembering Interactions. PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s40732-014-0011-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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18
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Manger P. Questioning the interpretations of behavioral observations of cetaceans: Is there really support for a special intellectual status for this mammalian order? Neuroscience 2013; 250:664-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.07.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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19
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Rats exhibit asymmetrical retention functions for hedonic and nonhedonic samples in many-to-one symbolic delayed matching to sample. Learn Behav 2012; 41:168-78. [PMID: 23055105 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-012-0094-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Rats were initially trained in a symbolic delayed matching-to-sample task either to discriminate hedonic samples that consisted of food or no food or to discriminate tone samples that differed in frequency and location. The retention functions for both the hedonic and tone samples were asymmetric, with forgetting of the food sample or the high-frequency tone occurring more rapidly than forgetting of the no-food sample or the low-frequency tone. Next, many-to-one (MTO) training was given in which tone samples were added for the rats initially trained with hedonic samples, and hedonic samples were added for the rats initially trained with tone samples. For both groups, a food sample and a tone sample (tone-F) were associated with responding to one lever (e.g., stationary), and a no-food sample and a different tone sample (tone-NF) were associated with responding to the alternative lever (e.g., moving). During retention testing, we found equivalent forgetting for the food and no-food samples, but forgetting of the tone-F sample occurred more rapidly than forgetting of the tone-NF sample. This is the first MTO study to suggest that rats, like pigeons, may use hedonic samples as the basis for the common coding of nonhedonic samples in MTO delayed matching.
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20
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Boutros N, Davison M, Elliffe D. Contingent stimuli signal subsequent reinforcer ratios. J Exp Anal Behav 2011; 96:39-61. [PMID: 21765545 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2011.96-39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2010] [Accepted: 03/12/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Conditioned reinforcer effects may be due to the stimulus' discriminative rather than its strengthening properties. While this was demonstrated in a frequently-changing choice procedure, a single attempt to replicate in a relatively static choice environment failed. We contend that this was because the information provided by the stimuli was nonredundant in the frequently-changing preparation, and redundant in the steady-state arrangement. In the present experiments, 6 pigeons worked in a steady-state concurrent schedule procedure with nonredundant informative stimuli (red keylight illuminations). When a response-contingent red keylight signaled that the next food delivery was more likely on one of the two alternatives, postkeylight choice responding was reliably for that alternative. This effect was enhanced after a history of extended informative red keylight presentation (Experiment 2). These results lend support to recent characterizations of conditioned reinforcer effects as reflective of a discriminative, rather than a reinforcing, property of the stimulus.
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21
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White KG, Brown GS. Reversing the course of forgetting. J Exp Anal Behav 2011; 96:177-89. [PMID: 21909163 PMCID: PMC3168886 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2011.96-177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2011] [Accepted: 06/24/2011] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Forgetting functions were generated for pigeons in a delayed matching-to-sample task, in which accuracy decreased with increasing retention-interval duration. In baseline training with dark retention intervals, accuracy was high overall. Illumination of the experimental chamber by a houselight during the retention interval impaired performance accuracy by increasing the rate of forgetting. In novel conditions, the houselight was lit at the beginning of a retention interval and then turned off partway through the retention interval. Accuracy was low at the beginning of the retention interval and then increased later in the interval. Thus the course of forgetting was reversed. Such a dissociation of forgetting from the passage of time is consistent with an interference account in which attention or stimulus control switches between the remembering task and extraneous events.
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22
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White KG, Brown GS. Reversing the signaled magnitude effect in delayed matching to sample: delay-specific remembering. J Exp Anal Behav 2011; 96:7-15. [PMID: 21765543 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2011.96-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2010] [Accepted: 03/02/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Pigeons performed a delayed matching-to-sample task in which large or small reinforcers for correct remembering were signaled during the retention interval. Accuracy was low when small reinforcers were signaled, and high when large reinforcers were signaled (the signaled magnitude effect). When the reinforcer-size cue was switched from small to large partway through the retention interval, accuracy accordingly changed from low to high. The opposite happened when the cue was switched from large to small. This dissociation of forgetting from the passage of time raises the possibility that remembering is delay-specific. The reversal of the signaled magnitude effect during the retention interval is consistent with an attentional account in which the stimulus control of remembering is influenced by extraneous events.
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23
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White KG, Sargisson RJ. Maintained generalization of delay-specific remembering. Behav Processes 2011; 87:310-3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2011] [Revised: 05/23/2011] [Accepted: 06/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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24
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Railton RCR, Foster TM, Temple W. Transfer of stimulus control from a TFT to CRT screen. Behav Processes 2010; 85:111-5. [PMID: 20600697 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2010.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2009] [Revised: 06/17/2010] [Accepted: 06/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The use of television and computer screens for presenting stimuli to animals is increasing as it is non-invasive and can provide precise control over stimuli. Past studies have used cathode ray tube (CRT) screens; however, there is some evidence that these give different results to non-flickering thin film transistor (TFT) screens. Hens' critical flicker fusion frequency ranges between 80 and 90 Hz--above standard CRT screens. Thus, stimuli presented on CRT screens may appear distorted to hens. This study aimed to investigate whether changing the flicker rate of CRT screens altered hens' discrimination. Hens were trained (in a conditional discrimination) to discriminate between two stimuli on a TFT (flickerless) screen, and tested with the stimuli on a CRT screen at four flicker rates (60, 75, 85, and 100 Hz). The hens' accuracy generally decreased as the refresh rate of the CRT screen decreased. These results imply that the change in flicker rate changed the appearance of the stimuli enough to affect the hens' discrimination and stimulus control is disrupted when the stimuli appear to flicker.
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Abstract
Metacognition is thinking about thinking. There is considerable interest in developing animal models of metacognition to provide insight about the evolution of mind and a basis for investigating neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive impairments in people. Formal modeling of low-level (i.e., alternative) mechanisms has recently demonstrated that prevailing standards for documenting metacognition are inadequate. Indeed, low-level mechanisms are sufficient to explain data from existing methods. Consequently, an assessment of what is 'lost' (in terms of existing methods and data) necessitates the development of new, innovative methods for metacognition. Development of new methods may prompt the establishment of new standards for documenting metacognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Allison L Foote
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens GA 30602-3013
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26
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Discrimination of moving video images of self by pigeons (Columba livia). Anim Cogn 2008; 11:699-705. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0161-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2008] [Revised: 04/26/2008] [Accepted: 05/18/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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27
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Effects of retention interval on performance in a numerical reproduction task. Behav Processes 2008; 78:279-84. [PMID: 18242005 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2007.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2007] [Accepted: 11/21/2007] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The retention interval (RI) between the sample and production phase in a numerical reproduction task was varied to determine whether a "produce-small" effect would be obtained with increased delays. Four pigeons were trained with a retention interval of 2s, and then tested with intervals of 0.5s and 8s. Results showed a number-dependent, "produce-large" effect-response number increased when RI was increased-analyses of average response number and accuracy suggested RI affected responding most on the 2-flash trials with an 8-s RI. Additionally, discrimination between trial types decreased as RI increased. Existing explanations for the "choose-short/small" effect appear unable to account for these results; however the "produce-large" effect may be attributed to a disruption in stimulus control over responding.
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Sargisson RJ, McLean IG, Brown GS, White KG. Seasonal variation in pigeon body weight and delayed matching-to-sample performance. J Exp Anal Behav 2008; 88:395-404. [PMID: 18047229 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2007.88-395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The weights of 5 pigeons with free access to food, monitored over 3 calendar years in the laboratory, were found to fluctuate with season. All pigeons were at their heaviest in the winter and were lightest in the summer. Five different pigeons performed a standard delayed matching-to-sample task for 44 weeks from January to November. Their weights were held at 85% of their summer free-feeding weights, making their predicted deprivation level higher in the winter relative to predicted winter free-feeding weights. Slopes of forgetting functions fit to weekly response totals for each pigeon were shallower in winter, showing an improvement in accuracy with longer delays. Thus, delayed matching-to-sample performance may have been affected by the practice of maintaining the pigeons at a constant body weight throughout the calendar year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Durstewitz
- Centre for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, University of Plymouth, Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
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Remembering as discrimination in delayed matching to sample: discriminability and bias. Learn Behav 2007; 35:177-83. [PMID: 17918423 DOI: 10.3758/bf03193053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Task difficulty in delayed matching-to-sample tasks (DMTS) is increased by increasing the length of a retention interval. When tasks become more difficult, choice behavior becomes more susceptible to bias produced by unequal reinforcer ratios. Delaying reinforcement from choice behavior also increases both task difficulty and the biasing effect of unequal reinforcer probability. Six pigeons completed nine DMTS conditions with retention intervals of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 sec, in which reinforcer delays of 0, 2, and 4 sec were combined with ratios of reinforcer probabilities of .5/.5, .2/.8, and .8/.2 for correct red and green responses. Discriminability (log d) decreased with both increasing retention interval duration and increasing reinforcer delay. Sensitivity to reinforcement, the tendency for ratios of choice responses to follow unequal reinforcer probabilities, also increased as a function of both increasing retention interval and increasing reinforcer delay. The result is consistent with the view that remembering in DMTS tasks is a discriminated operant in which increasing task difficulty increases sensitivity to reinforcement.
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Abstract
Four pigeons were first trained in a timing procedure. In one condition, each trial began with the presentation of an X on the center key, followed by a delay (short or long), after which two side keys were lit. If the delay was short, pecks to the red side key were reinforced. If the delay was long, pecks to the green side key were reinforced. In a second condition, the opposite contingencies applied following presentation of a square on the center key. Choice responses were then tested at 10 time intervals ranging from short to long (1 to 4 s and 4 to 7 s in different conditions). The two timing conditions were combined to create a remembering condition in which correct responding depended upon discrimination of both the sample stimulus (X or square) and the delay interval (short or long). Choices varied systematically across delay in timing conditions, but in remembering conditions, accurate choice at the training delays did not initially generalize to intermediate delays. However, with prolonged training in the remembering task, the response pattern began to resemble that of the timing conditions. Generalization gradients were asymmetrical, in accordance with Weber's Law, in that greater generalization occurred with longer delays than with shorter delays.
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Durstewitz D, Seamans JK. Beyond bistability: Biophysics and temporal dynamics of working memory. Neuroscience 2006; 139:119-33. [PMID: 16326020 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.06.094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2005] [Revised: 06/16/2005] [Accepted: 06/26/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Working memory has often been modeled and conceptualized as a kind of binary (bistable) memory switch, where stimuli turn on plateau-like persistent activity in subsets of cells, in line with many in vivo electrophysiological reports. A potentially related form of bistability, termed up- and down-states, has been studied with regard to its synaptic and ionic basis in vivo and in reduced cortical preparations. Also single cell mechanisms for producing bistability have been proposed and investigated in brain slices and computationally. Recently, however, it has been emphasized that clear plateau-like bistable activity is rather rare during working memory tasks, and that neurons exhibit a multitude of different temporally unfolding activity profiles and temporal structure within their spiking dynamics. Hence, working memory seems to be a highly dynamical neural process with yet unknown mappings from dynamical to computational properties. Empirical findings on ramping activity profiles and temporal structure will be reviewed, as well as neural models that attempt to account for it and its computational significance. Furthermore, recent in vivo, neural culture, and in vitro preparations will be discussed that offer new possibilities for studying the biophysical mechanisms underlying computational processes during working memory. These preparations have revealed additional evidence for temporal structure and spatio-temporally organized attractor states in cortical networks, as well as for specific computational properties that may characterize synaptic processing during high-activity states as during working memory. Together such findings may lay the foundations for highly dynamical theories of working memory based on biophysical principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Durstewitz
- Centre for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, University of Plymouth, A 220 Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
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Harper DN, Bizo LA, Peters H. Dopamine agonists and antagonists can produce an attenuation of response bias in a temporal discrimination task depending on discriminability of target duration. Behav Processes 2006; 71:286-96. [PMID: 16413975 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2005.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2005] [Revised: 11/28/2005] [Accepted: 11/29/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The current study examined the effects of the D2 agonist (quinpirole) and D2 antagonist (eticlopride) on temporal discrimination performance in a conditional discrimination task (Experiment I) and a delayed conditional discrimination task (Experiment II). In both experiments rats discriminated between a scheduled stimulus duration of 3 s versus 9 s. Consistent with previous reports, overall discrimination performance decreased in a dose-dependent manner with both drugs. Changes in response bias (the tendency to choose-short or choose-long irrespective of actual stimulus duration), however, were best characterized in terms of both drugs tending to attenuate the bias effects normally observed during baseline drug-free performance. Specifically, the 'choose-short' bias observed in Experiment I and at a relatively short, 0.1 s, delay in Experiment II became less extreme with increasing doses. In addition, the 'choose-long' bias observed at a relatively long, 6 s, delay in Experiment II also became less extreme with increasing doses. Thus, whether there was an apparent shift from a short response bias to long, or vice versa, was the product of the delay interval between stimulus presentation and choice rather than whether the drug in question was a D2 agonist or antagonist. Such an attenuation of bias may have arisen because of subjects confounding the delay interval with the actual discriminative stimulus duration.
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Zentall TR. Timing, memory for intervals, and memory for untimed stimuli: The role of instructional ambiguity. Behav Processes 2006; 71:88-97. [PMID: 16406373 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2005.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2005] [Revised: 07/07/2005] [Accepted: 07/08/2005] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Theories of animal timing have had to account for findings that the memory for the duration of a timed interval appears to be dramatically shorted within a short time of its termination. This finding has led to the subjective shortening hypothesis and it has been proposed to account for the poor memory that animals appear to have for the initial portion of a timed interval when a gap is inserted in the to-be-timed signal. It has also been proposed to account for the poor memory for a relatively long interval that has been discriminated from a shorter interval. I suggest here a simpler account in which ambiguity between the gap or retention interval and the intertrial interval results in resetting the clock, rather than forgetting the interval. The ambiguity hypothesis, together with a signal salience mechanism that determines how quickly the clock is reset at the start of the intertrial interval can account for the results of the reported timing experiments that have used the peak procedure. Furthermore, instructional ambiguity rather than memory loss may account for the results of many animal memory experiments that do not involve memory for time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Zentall
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA.
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Zentall TR. Timing, memory for intervals, and memory for untimed stimuli: The role of instructional ambiguity. Behav Processes 2005; 70:209-22. [PMID: 16095851 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2005.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2005] [Revised: 07/07/2005] [Accepted: 07/08/2005] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Theories of animal timing have had to account for findings that the memory for the duration of a timed interval appears to be dramatically shorted within a short time of its termination. This finding has led to the subjective shortening hypothesis and it has been proposed to account for the poor memory that animals appear to have for the initial portion of a timed interval when a gap is inserted in the to-be-timed signal. It has also been proposed to account for the poor memory for a relatively long interval that has been discriminated from a shorter interval. I suggest here a simpler account in which ambiguity between the gap or retention interval and the intertrial interval results in resetting the clock, rather than forgetting the interval. The ambiguity hypothesis, together with a signal salience mechanism that determines how quickly the clock is reset at the start of the intertrial interval can account for the results of the reported timing experiments that have used the peak procedure. Furthermore, instructional ambiguity rather than memory loss may account for the results of many animal memory experiments that do not involve memory for time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas R Zentall
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 202B Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA.
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Nakagawa S, Etheredge RJM, Foster TM, Sumpter CE, Temple W. The effects of changes in consequences on hens' performance in delayed-matching-to-sample tasks. Behav Processes 2005; 67:441-51. [PMID: 15518993 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2004.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2004] [Revised: 06/21/2004] [Accepted: 07/19/2004] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A delayed-matching-to-sample (DMTS) task was used to investigate remembering with domestic hens. In Conditions 1 and 3 of Experiment 1, six hens responded under a mixed-delay procedure with delays of 0.25, 2, and 8 s. In Condition 2, the reinforcer for correct responding was delayed for 6 s after each correct matching response on 2-s delay trials. In Condition 1, discrimination performance decreased monotonically over the three delays. With the delay to the reinforcer, the decreases were non-monotonic as a result of the considerable drop in the accuracy of discrimination on the 2-s delay trials. Performance at the 2-s delay did not recover completely in Condition 3. In Conditions 1 and 3 of Experiment 2, five hens responded under a mixed-delay procedure with delays of 0, 4, and 16 s. In Condition 2 no reinforcers were provided for correct responding on 0- and 16-s delay trials. When reinforcers were available on all trials discrimination performance decreased monotonically with delay. There were non-monotonic changes in discrimination with delay when there was extinction at two delays resulting mainly from a large drop in discrimination performance at 0 s. In addition, response latencies increased markedly at the two delays associated with extinction. Performance recovered completely in Condition 3. The data support the ideas that remembering involves a temporal discrimination that the effects of delaying reinforcement and removing reinforcement may differ, and that the measurement of response latencies may be a useful tool in DMTS procedures.
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Sargisson RJ, White KG. On the form of the forgetting function: the effects of arithmetic and logarithmic distributions of delays. J Exp Anal Behav 2004; 80:295-309. [PMID: 14964709 PMCID: PMC1284961 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2003.80-295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Forgetting functions with 18 delay intervals were generated for delayed matching-to-sample performance in pigeons. Delay interval variation was achieved by arranging five different sets of five delays across daily sessions. In different conditions, the delays were distributed in arithmetic or logarithmic series. There was no convincing evidence for different effects on discriminability of the distributions of different delays. The mean data were better fitted by some mathematical functions than by others, but the best-fitting functions depended on the distribution of delays. In further conditions with a fixed set of five delays, discriminability was higher with a logarithmic distribution of delays than with an arithmetic distribution. This result is consistent with the treatment of the forgetting function in terms of generalization decrement.
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Abstract
Animals can predict the time of occurrence of a forthcoming event relative to a preceding stimulus, i.e. the interval time between those two, given previous learning experience with the temporal contingency between them. Accumulating evidence suggests that a particular pattern of neural activity observed during tasks involving fixed temporal intervals might carry interval time information: the activity of some cortical and subcortical neurons ramps up slowly and linearly during the interval, like a temporal integrator, and peaks around the time at which the event is due to occur. The slope of this climbing activity, and hence the peak time, adjusts to the length of a temporal interval during repetitive experience with it. Various neural mechanisms for producing climbing activity with variable slopes, representing the length of learned intervals, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Durstewitz
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, GAFO 04/991, Ruhr-University Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
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Abstract
Five pigeons performed in a delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) procedure with five delay durations (0.5, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 s) mixed within sessions. Contrary to the predictions of need probability theory, discriminability decreased when fewer short than long delays were included in each session. To test whether the decrease in discriminability was due to a decrease in obtained reinforcement at short delays, the number of trials at each delay was held constant and reinforcer probability was increased with increasing delay. This manipulation produced a similar decrease in discriminability as when the frequency of delays was manipulated. It was concluded that the effect of delay frequency on the forgetting function is mediated by the effect of the reinforcer distribution, which influences discriminability by weakening stimulus control.
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Sargisson RJ, White KG. The effect of reinforcer delays on the form of the forgetting function. J Exp Anal Behav 2003; 80:77-94. [PMID: 13677610 PMCID: PMC1284948 DOI: 10.1901/jeab.2003.80-77] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Pigeons were trained in a matching-to-sample procedure with retention intervals of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 s mixed within each session. In different conditions, reinforcement was delayed by 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 s from correct choice responses. Discriminability decreased with increasing retention-interval duration and with increasing reinforcer delay. Exponential forgetting functions were fitted to discriminability measures plotted as a function of retention interval. Initial discriminability (intercept of the fitted functions) decreased with increasing reinforcer delay. Rate of forgetting (slope of the fitted functions) increased with reinforcer delay, suggesting an interaction between the effects of reinforcer delay and retention interval. The data were well described by multiplying an exponential function describing the effects of retention interval by a hyperbolic function describing the effect of reinforcer delay. This description included an interaction term that allowed for a greater effect of reinforcer delay at longer retention intervals.
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Abstract
Two processes may contribute to the decrement in discriminability with increasing temporal distance between the occasioning event and later choice. One is the length of the interval and the other is generalization decrement. In the model described by White and Wixted [J. Exp. Anal. Behav. 71 (1999) 91-113], choice was predicted by the relative payoff for correct delayed matching responses, conditional on the current value of the stimulus sampled from Thurstone-like probability distributions of the effect of the sample stimuli. In the model, discriminability decreased with increasing temporal distance because the variance of the distributions increased with time. However, White and Wixted did not specify the function relating variance to temporal distance. If a diffusion process is assumed, and if diffusion increases exponentially with time, the resulting forgetting function is a negative exponential. An additional process involves exponential generalization of remembering from one time to other times. Alternative diffusion functions result in hyperbolic or power forgetting functions. The combination of two exponential processes yields forgetting functions that are double exponential in form and which appear consistent with a wide range of data.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Geoffrey White
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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