ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Brain activity is known to be voluntarily controllable by neurofeedback, a kind of electroencephalographic (EEG) operant conditioning. Although its efficacy in clinical effects has been reported, it is yet to be uncovered whether or how a specific band activity is controllable. Here, we examined EEG spectral profiles along with conditioning training of a specific brain activity, theta band (4–8 Hz) amplitude, in rats. METHODS: During training, the experimental group received electrical stimulation to the medial forebrain bundle contingent to suppression of theta activity, while the control group received stimulation non-contingent to its own band activity. RESULTS: In the experimental group, theta activity gradually decreased within the training session, while there was an increase of theta activity in the control group. There was a significant difference in theta activity during the sessions between the two groups. The spectral theta peak, originally located at 7 Hz, shifted further towards higher frequencies in the experimental group. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that an operant conditioning technique could train rats to control their specific EEG activity indirectly, and it may be used as an animal model for studying how neuronal systems work in human neurofeedback.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Rats , Brain , Conditioning, Operant , Electric Stimulation , Electroencephalography , Medial Forebrain Bundle , Models, Animal , Neurofeedback , NeuronsABSTRACT
Impulsivity-related measures have been obtained using operantconditioning tasks. Although it has been suggested that impulsivity indices can also be obtained using the elevated plus-maze (EPM), an anxiety-related animal test, no studies have examined the relationship between anxiety-related variables in EPM and impulsivity-related indices obtained during operant conditioning. Correlations between EPM measures and performance in a 60-s fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement (FI 60-s) were established in this study. Seventeen female rats were exposed to the EPM before starting training in the FI 60-s schedule. A positive correlation was found between the percentage of time spent in the central area of the EPM and both the FI efficiency index and the inter-response times. In addition, these three measures were positively correlated within Factor 1 of a factor analysis. No correlations were observed between open-arms measures in EPM and operant performance. These results suggest that time in the central area of the EPM may be a useful index of impulsivity in rodents without a pre-determined trait of impulsivity.
Medidas relacionadas a impulsividad se han obtenido mediante tareas de condicionamiento operante. Aunque se ha sugerido que índices de impulsividad pueden ser también obtenidos usando el laberinto en cruz elevado (LCE), una prueba animal relacionada con ansiedad, ningún estudio ha examinado la relación entre las variables de ansiedad en el LCE e índices de impulsividad obtenidos durante condicionamiento operante. En este estudio se establecieron correlaciones entre medidas del LCE y el desempeño en un programa de reforzamiento de intervalo fijo 60-s (IF 60-s). Diecisiete ratas hembras fueron expuestas la LCE antes de iniciar el entrenamiento en el programa de IF 60-s. Se encontró una correlación positiva entre el porcentaje de tiempo de permanencia en el área central del LCE y tanto el índice de eficiencia como los tiempos entre respuestas en IF. Adicionalmente, estas tres medidas correlacionaron de forma positiva dentro del Factor 1 del análisis factorial. No se observaron correlaciones entre las medidas de los brazos abiertos del LCE y la ejecución operante. Los resultados sugieren que el tiempo en el área central del LCE podría ser un índice útil de impulsividad en roedores sin un perfil predeterminado de impulsividad.
ABSTRACT
Head restraining is an experimental technique that firmly secures the animal's head to a fixation apparatus for the precise control and sensing of behaviors. However, procedural and surgical difficulties and limitations have been obstructing the use of the technique in neurophysiological and behavioral experiments. Here, we propose a novel design of the head-restraining apparatus which is easy to develop and convenient for practical use. Head restraining procedure can be completed by sliding the head mounter, which is molded by dental cement during implantation surgery, into the port, which serves as matching guide rails for the mounter, of the fixation bar. So neither skull-attached plates nor screws for fixation are needed. We performed intracranial self stimulation experiment in rats using the newly designed device. Rats were habituated to acclimatize the head-restraint environment and trained to discriminate two spatially distinguished cues using a customized push-pull lever as an operandum. Direct electrical stimulation into the medial forebrain bundle served as reward. We confirmed that head restraining was stable throughout experiments and rats were able to learn to manipulate the lever after successful habituation. Our experimental framework might help precise control or sensing of behavior under head fixed rats using direct electrical brain stimulation as a reward.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Brain , Conditioning, Operant , Cues , Dental Cements , Electric Stimulation , Fungi , Head , Medial Forebrain Bundle , Reward , Self StimulationABSTRACT
Skinner was the most influential American psychologist, behaviourist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He is regarded as father of operant conditioning. He is famous for his research on schedules of reinforcement by using animals in Skinner box.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of operant conditioning in sustaining reduced noise levels in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) Design: Quasi-experimental study on quality of care. Setting: Level III NICU of a teaching hospital in south India. Participants: 26 staff employed in the NICU. (7 Doctors, 13 Nursing staff and 6 Nursing assistants). Intervention: Operant conditioning of staff activity for 6 months. This method involves positive and negative reinforcement to condition the staff to modify noise generating activities. Main outcome measures: Comparing noise levels in decibel: A weighted [dB (A)] before conditioning with levels at 18 and 24 months after conditioning. Decibel: A weighted accounts for noise that is audible to human ears. Results: Operant conditioning for 6 months sustains the reduced noise levels to within 62 dB (A) in ventilator room (95% CI: 60.4 – 62.2) and isolation room (95% CI: 55.8 – 61.5). In the pre-term room, noise can be maintained within 52 dB (A) (95 % CI: 50.8 – 52.6). This effect is statistically significant in all the rooms at 18 months (P = 0.001). At 24 months post conditioning there is a significant rebound of noise levels by 8.6, 6.7 and 9.9 dB (A) in the ventilator, isolation and pre-term room, respectively (P=0.001). Conclusion: Operant conditioning for 6 months was effective in sustaining reduced noise levels. At 18 months post conditioning, the noise levels were maintained within 62 dB (A), 60 dB (A) and 52 dB (A) in the ventilator, isolation and pre-term room, respectively. Conditioning needs to be repeated at 12 months in the ventilator room and at 18 months in the other rooms.
ABSTRACT
The reinforcement omission effect (ROE) has been attributed to both motivational and attentional consequences of surprising reinforcement omission. Recent evidence suggests that the basolateral complex of the amygdala is involved in motivational components related to reinforcement value, whereas the central nucleus of the amygdala is involved in the processing of the attentional consequences of surprise. This study was designed to verify whether the mechanisms involved in the ROE depend on the integrity of either the basolateral amygdala complex or central nucleus of the amygdala. The ROE was evaluated in rats with lesions of either the central nucleus or basolateral complex of the amygdala and trained on a fixed-interval schedule procedure (Experiment 1) and fixed-interval with limited hold signaled schedule procedure (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 1 showed that sham-operated rats and rats with lesions of either the central nucleus or basolateral area displayed the ROE. In contrast, in Experiment 2, subjects with lesions of the central nucleus or basolateral complex of the amygdala exhibited a smaller ROE compared with sham-operated subjects. Thus, the effects of selective lesions of amygdala subregions on the ROE in rats depended on the training procedure. Furthermore, the absence of differences between the lesioned groups in either experiment did not allow the dissociation of attentional or motivational components of the ROE with functions of specific areas of the amygdala. Thus, results did not show a functional double-dissociation between the central nucleus and basolateral area in the ROE.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Amygdala , Conditioning, Operant , Reinforcement, PsychologyABSTRACT
O presente estudo examinou a relação entre aspectos psicossociais e padrões de reação fisiológica (frequência cardíaca, pressão arterial, condução cutânea e medidas respiratórias) para quatro tipos de contingências operantes (recompensa, extinção, punição e evitação) registrados durante um teste de computador em uma amostra de 32 calouros universitários holandeses. Práticas educativas parentais (cuidado, controle e proteção), variáveis familiares, sociodemográficas e o significado emocional foram utilizados como preditores de reações fisiológicas. Como medidas de coordenação vegetativa foram comparados os coeficientes entre medidas fisiológicas com máxima correlação. Os resultados confirmam a relevância de práticas educativas parentais no desenvolvimento da ativação autônoma do adulto, em especial o papel do cuidado. Dentre os preditores sociodemográficos, a renda familiar foi o mais relevante. As atitudes dos sujeitos em relação às emoções positivas e negativas também aparecem relacionadas a índices fisiológicos de coordenação cardiovascular. Os sujeitos classificam-se em dois tipos de coordenação vegetativos ligados a características psicossociais
The present study examines psychosocial correlates of physiological reaction patterns (heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance, and respiratory measures) to four types of operant contingencies (reward, extinction, punishment, and avoidance) recorded during a computer test to a sample of 32 Dutch university freshmen. Child-rearing factors (Warmth, Control, and Protection), family and demographic variables, and affective meanings of emotions were used as predictors of physiological reactions. As measures of vegetative coordination, maximum cross-correlation coefficients between physiological measures were used and compared. Results support the relevance of child-rearing practices in the development of adult autonomic activation, in particular the role of parental Warmth. Among socio-demographic predictors, family income was most relevant. Subjects´ attitudes towards negative and positive emotions also appear related to physiological indices of cardiovascular coordination. Subjects fell into two vegetative coordination types linked to psychosocial characteristics
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Psychophysiology , Autonomic Nervous System , Child Rearing , Conditioning, Operant , Cultural CharacteristicsABSTRACT
Classical and operant conditioning principles, such as the behavioral discrepancy-derived assumption that reinforcement always selects antecedent stimulus and response relations, have been studied at the neural level, mainly by observing the strengthening of neuronal responses or synaptic connections. A review of the literature on the neural basis of behavior provided extensive scientific data that indicate a synthesis between the two conditioning processes based mainly on stimulus control in learning tasks. The resulting analysis revealed the following aspects. Dopamine acts as a behavioral discrepancy signal in the midbrain pathway of positive reinforcement, leading toward the nucleus accumbens. Dopamine modulates both types of conditioning in the Aplysia mollusk and in mammals. In vivo and in vitro mollusk preparations show convergence of both types of conditioning in the same motor neuron. Frontal cortical neurons are involved in behavioral discrimination in reversal and extinction procedures, and these neurons preferentially deliver glutamate through conditioned stimulus or discriminative stimulus pathways. Discriminative neural responses can reliably precede operant movements and can also be common to stimuli that share complex symbolic relations. The present article discusses convergent and divergent points between conditioning paradigms at the neural level of analysis to advance our knowledge on reinforcement