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Operant Conditioning (operant + conditioning)
Selected AbstractsHabituation and desensitization as methods for reducing fearful behavior in singly housed rhesus macaquesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Andrea W. Clay Abstract Operant conditioning using positive reinforcement techniques has been used extensively in the management of nonhuman primates in both zoological and laboratory settings. This research project was intended to test the usefulness of counter-conditioning techniques in reducing the fear-responses of singly housed male rhesus macaques living in the laboratory environment. A total of 18 male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were selected for this project and randomly assigned to one of three groups: a desensitization training group, a husbandry training group, or a control group. Behavioral data were collected before and after a 6 weeks training and/or habituation period during which the first two groups received a total of 125,min of positive reinforcement training (and also were assumed to undergo habituation to the environment) and the control group experienced only simple habituation to the environment. Based on a Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Sign Test, we found that a significant proportion of animals exposed to desensitization training showed a reduction in the rate at which they engaged in cringing toward humans (exact significance=0.016, one-tailed, N,ties=6), cringing in general (exact significance=0.016, one-tailed, N,ties=6), and in stress-related behaviors (exact significance=0.016, one-tailed, N,ties=6). This was not the case for animals exposed to basic husbandry training or animals in the control group. A significant proportion of desensitization-exposed animals also showed a reduction in the duration of time spent cringing toward humans (exact significance=0.016, one-tailed, N,ties=6), but not in cringing behaviors in general or in stress-related behaviors. There were not a significant proportion of animals in either the husbandry training group or the control group that showed a decrease in duration of these behaviors. Results of this study could enhance both laboratory animal welfare and laboratory animal research, and could be a first step in developing techniques for reducing fearful behavior in rhesus monkeys in the laboratory environment. Am. J. Primatol. 71:30,39, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT): Pediatric applicationsDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Kathleen Brady Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe theoretical and research bases for constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), to discuss key features and variations in protocols currently in use with children, and to review the results of studies of efficacy. CIMT has been found to be an effective intervention for increasing functional use of the hemiparetic upper extremity in adults with chronic disability from stroke. CIMT developed out of behavioral research on the phenomenon of "learned nonuse" of an upper extremity, commonly observed following sensory and/or motor CNS injury, in which failure to regain use persists even after a period of partial recovery. CIMT includes three key elements: (1) constraining the use of the less-impaired upper extremity (UE); (2) intensive, repetitive daily therapist-directed practice of motor movements with the impaired UE for an extended period (2,3 weeks); and (3) shaping of more complex action patterns through a process of rewarding successive approximations to the target action. Mechanisms responsible for success are thought to be separate but complementary, that is, operant conditioning (reversal of learned nonuse) and experience-driven cortical reorganization. CIMT has recently been extended to children with hemiparesis secondary to perinatal stroke or other CNS pathology. Numerous case studies, as well as a small number of randomized controlled or controlled clinical trials have reported substantial gains in functional use of the hemiplegic UE following CIMT with children. Protocols vary widely in terms of type of constraint used, intensity and duration of training, and outcome measures. In general, all report gains in functional use, with minimal or no adverse effects. Continued research is needed, to clarify optimal protocol parameters and to further understand mechanisms of efficacy. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Dev Disabil Res Rev 2009;15:102,111. [source] Rapid acquisition of operant conditioning in 5-day-old rat pups: A new technique articulating suckling-related motor activity and milk reinforcementDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007Carlos Arias Abstract Newborn rats are capable of obtaining milk by attaching to a surrogate nipple. During this procedure pups show a gradual increase in head and forelimb movements oriented towards the artificial device that are similar to those observed during nipple attachment. In the present study the probability of execution of these behaviors was analyzed as a function of their contingency with intraoral milk infusion using brief training procedures (15 min). Five-day-old pups were positioned in a smooth surface having access to a touch-sensitive sensor. Physical contact with the sensor activated an infusion pump which served to deliver intraoral milk reinforcement (Paired group). Yoked controls received the reinforcer when Paired neonates touched the sensor. Paired pups trained under a continuous reinforcement schedule emitted significantly more responses than Yoked controls following two (Experiment 1) or one training session (Experiment 2). These differences were also observed during an extinction session conducted immediately after training. The level of maternal deprivation before training (3 or 6 hr) or the volume of milk delivered (1.0 or 1.5 µl per pulse) did not affect acquisition or extinction performances. In addition, it was observed that the rate of responding of Paired pups during the early phase of the extinction session significantly predicted subsequent levels of acceptance of the reinforcer. These results indicate that the frequency of suckling-related behaviors can be rapidly modified by means of associative operant processes. The operant procedure here described represents an alternative tool for the ontogenetic analysis of self-administration or behavior processes of seeking. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 576-588, 2007. [source] PRECLINICAL STUDY: Mifepristone and spironolactone differently alter cocaine intravenous self-administration and cocaine-induced locomotion in C57BL/6J miceADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Jean-François Fiancette ABSTRACT Corticosterone, the main glucorticoid hormone in rodents, facilitates behavioral responses to cocaine. Corticosterone is proposed to modulate cocaine intravenous self-administration (SA) and cocaine-induced locomotion through distinct receptors, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), respectively. However, this remains debatable. On one hand, modulation of both responses by the GR was tested in different experimental conditions, i.e. light versus dark nycthemeral phase and naïve versus cocaine-experienced animals. On the other hand, modulation of both responses by the MR was never tested directly but only inferred based on the ability of low plasma corticosterone levels (those for which corticosterone almost exclusively binds the MR) to compensate the effects of adrenalectomy. Our goal here was to test the involvement of the GR and the MR in cocaine-induced locomotor and reinforcing effects in the same experimental conditions. C57Bl/6J mice were trained for cocaine (1 mg/kg/infusion) intravenous SA over 40 SA sessions. The animals were then administered with mifepristone (30 mg/kg i.p.), a GR antagonist, or with spironolactone (20 mg/kg/i.p.), an MR antagonist, 2 hours before either cocaine intravenous SA or cocaine-induced locomotion. In a comparable nycthemeral period and in similarly cocaine-experienced animals, a blockade of the GR decreased cocaine-induced reinforcing effects but not cocaine-induced locomotion. A blockade of the MR decreased both cocaine-induced reinforcing (but to a much lesser extent than the GR blockade) and locomotor effects. Altogether, our results comforted the hypothesis that the GR modulates cocaine-related operant conditioning, while the MR would modulate cocaine-related unconditioned effects. The present data also reveal mifepristone as an interesting tool for manipulating the impact of corticosterone on cocaine-induced reinforcing effects in mice. [source] The role of cognition in classical and operant conditioningJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2004Irving Kirsch For the past 35 years, learning theorists have been providing models that depend on mental representations, even in their most simple, deterministic, and mechanistic approaches. Hence, cognitive involvement (typically thought of as expectancy) is assumed for most instances of classical and operant conditioning, with current theoretical differences concerning the level of cognition that is involved (e.g., simple association vs. rule learning), rather than its presence. Nevertheless, many psychologists not in the mainstream of learning theory continue to think of cognitive and conditioning theories as rival families of hypotheses. In this article, the data pertaining to the role of higher-order cognition in conditioning is reviewed, and a theoretical synthesis is proposed that provides a role for both automatic and cognitively mediated processes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] (631) Chronic Pain Treatment Meta-Analyses: A Mathematical and Qualitative ReviewPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 2 2000Article first published online: 25 DEC 200 Authors: Fishbain DA, University of Miami Comprehensive Pain Center; Rosomoff H, University of Miami Comprehensive Pain Center; Cutler RB, University of Miami Comprehensive Pain Center; Steele-Rosomoff R, University of Miami Comprehensive Pain Center Aim of Investigation: To critically review chronic pain treatment meta-analyses according to defined criteria. Methods: An extensive literature search yielded 22 meta-analyses dealing with pain. The following inclusion criteria were applied to these studies: (1) nonsurgical pain treatment outcome only, including nerve blocks; (2) chronic pain treatment outcome only; (3) nonmalignant pain only and; (4) study data presenting an effect size which enabled the calculation of a confidence interval (CI). These inclusion criteria selected 16 studies from the original group. These remaining meta-analyses were then divided into 3 categories: (1) General pain facility treatment (n = 4); (2) Headache treatment (n = 5) and; (3) Specific treatment types, eg, manipulation, psychoeducational, antidepressant, etc. (n = 7). Within each meta-analysis the data was subdivided according to type of pain, treatment type and outcome variable. The CI was then calculated for each of these subdivisions within each meta-analysis. The quality of the 16 meta-analyses was also investigated according to 20 meta-analysis criteria previously presented in the literature. Results: (1) Overall, the pain facility treatment meta-analyses were remarkably consistent in demonstrating that pain facility treatment is effective for most treatment outcome variables. (2) Within pain facility treatments, biofeedback, cognitive therapy, operant conditioning, and package treatment were demonstrated to be efficacious. (3) Within the headache treatment meta-analyses, both relaxation/biofeedback and various medications were demonstrated to be efficacious. (4) Within the specific isolated treatments group, psychoeducation, antidepressants, capsaicin and spinal manipulation were found to have efficacy, for a number of treatment outcome variables. (5) The quality of the meta-analyses was variable but acceptable, according to the meta-analysis criteria utilized. Conclusions: Overall the results of the reviewed meta-analyses indicate that most treatments are effective for most pain patients but that some treatments appear to be more effective than others. [source] Ability of heifers to discriminate between familiar herdmates and members of an unfamiliar group: preference test and operant conditioning testANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2009Yuki KOBA ABSTRACT Using a preference test and operant conditioning in a Y-maze, this experiment examined the ability of heifers to discriminate between their own familiar herdmates and member(s) of an unfamiliar group. Sixteen Danish Friesian heifers, eight older animals (360.6 ± 24.2 days of age) and eight younger ones (190.1 ± 14.1 days of age) were used. Each age group was further divided into two experimental groups. Members of each of these groups were housed together in small pens before the experiments began. In experiment 1, each of the 16 animals was allowed to approach either a familiar or an unfamiliar individual in the Y-maze. The test was repeated 12 times, with a different unfamiliar subject for each test. In experiment 2, eight heifers were individually tested in a conditioning experiment to examine whether they could learn to discriminate between a group of their three herdmates and a group of three unfamiliar heifers. Test animals were rewarded when they chose their own group. In experiment 1, heifers did not show a preference between familiar and unfamiliar individuals. Interestingly the younger stimulus heifers but not the test animals showed an ability to discriminate between unfamiliar animals by vocalizing. In experiment 2, four of the eight test animals achieved the criterion for successful discrimination between the familiar and unfamiliar group (P < 0.003: binomial law). There was no age group difference in the ability to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar animals. In conclusion, heifers did not show a preference toward familiar or unfamiliar individuals; but after conditioning, some heifers could learn to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar groups. 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