Punishment of consummatory and instrumental behavior: Effects on licking and bar pressing in rats.

Maintained licking and bar pressing in 48 male hooded rats by intermittent water reinforcement. Shock punishment was delivered for either a reinforced or nonreinforced lick or bar-press response. Punishment suppressed licking more than bar pressing. Pairing punishment with reinforcement had little effect on overall response suppression. In Exp. II with 18 Ss, Ss punished for the 1st lick after a reinforced bar press showed more response suppression than Ss punished for the reinforced bar press. Results support R. Solomon's (see record 1965-00694-001) hypothesis than consummatory behavior is more sensitive to punishment than instrumental behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Septal ablation in the rat and bar pressing under appetitive and aversive control.

Assigned 6 male hooded rats with bilateral septal lesions and 3 Ss with bilateral cortical control lesions to bar-press in a successive discrimination (go, no-go) task. Over successive experimental conditions, responding was maintained by the following reinforcers: food, shock escape, shock avoidance, concurrent food reinforcement and shock avoidance, and, once again, food. Ss with septal lesions responded to the no-go stimulus at higher rates than did controls only under the simple food-reinforcement conditions. Results suggest that disinhibition of bar pressing following septal ablation in rats may occur with appetitive and not with aversive schedules of reinforcement. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of early social deprivation on emotionality in rats.

Following parturition, 95 male Holtzman albino rat pups were separated from their mothers and randomly assigned to rearing conditions (a) with mother and peers, (b) with mother without peers, (c) in incubators with peers, or (d) in incubators in isolation. At 65 days of age Ss were tested daily in an open field for 3 min. over 6 consecutive days. At 113 days of age, Ss were restrained and presented a mild auditory stimulus and subsequently a noxious shock stimulus while heart rate recordings were taken. Higher emotionality in maternally-deprived Ss was evidenced in longer emergence latencies, lower ambulatory scores, and higher urination frequencies in the open field. Maternally-deprived Ss also gave larger heart rate responses to auditory and shock stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of overtraining on reversal and extradimensional shifts in schizophrenics.

In Exp. I, 50 schizophrenic Ss were trained under 1 of 3 discrimination learning conditions: reversal (R) shift, extradimensional (ED) shift, or control. 1/2 of the Ss in each shift condition received overtraining on the preshift discrimination. Performances of nonovertrained Ss on the R and ED shifts were very similar to performances of schizophrenic Ss tested by J. D. Nolan (see 42:11). Newman-Keuls analyses indicate that overtraining facilitated the R shift relative to the ED shift. The result was a significant overall effect due to shift type. In Exp. II, a replication of Exp. I, 60 undergraduates learned R shifts faster than ED shifts, but overtraining had no discernible effect. Results were compared with those reported by Nolan and were discussed in terms of a 2-stage attention model of discrimination learning. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orbital bar pressing: A historical note on Skinner and the chimpanzees in space.

Describes how the work of Skinner, referred to as probably the 1st comparative aerospace psychologist, was influential in a program of space animal research that sent 2 barpressing chimpanzees into space. Every technique, schedule, and programming recording device used then and subsequently can be traced to Skinner or his students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of gastric loads and food deprivation on subsequent food intake in suckling rats.

In 4 experiments, a total of 478 suckling Charles River rats were subjected to deprivation periods of 6-8 hrs. Intake following deprivation was greater in deprived than in nondeprived Ss but did not increase with increasing deprivation. Gastric loads of NaCl solutions depressed subsequent intake; 3% NaCl was more effective than .9% NaCl. Other gastric loads of varying osmotic and caloric values also depressed subsequent intake. In order of increasing effectiveness in depressing intake, the gastric loads were protein hydrolystate, heavy cream, water, milk, lactose, glucose, and corn oil. Effectiveness was unrelated to osmotic or caloric value of the load. Gastric fill and, possibly, some property of carbohydrate appeared to be important determinants of satiety in the S. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of endocrine state on sociosexual behavior of female rats tested in a complex environment.

Examined the influence of both natural and artificially induced endocrine states on the sociosexual behavior of female Long-Evans rats during 15-min behavioral observations in a complex testing apparatus that allowed Ss to control their contacts with sexually active and passive males and ovariectomized (OVX) females. Ss were either intact and in various stages of the estrous cycle or OVX and treated with estradiol benzoate (5–20 μg), estradiol plus progesterone (0.5 mg/kg), or vehicle. Factor analysis of the behavioral measures indicated separate loadings on a lordotic behavior factor, a factor for Ss' preference for proximity to OVX females or passive males; and a factor for Ss' locomotion between portions of the testing apparatus. Behavioral variables loading on these factors were influenced by endocrine state, but the nature of the relation between behaviors and endocrine state varied between factors. The utility of the present testing situation in investigations of the neuroendocrine substrates underlying the motivational aspects of feminine reproductive behavior is discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orogastric, hydrational, and behavioral controls of drinking following water deprivation in rats.

Studied drinking and its associated behaviors in 168 female Sprague-Dawley rats deprived of fluid for 8, 24, or 48 hrs. The behavior of Ss drinking water could be divided into 3 successive stages: (a) an initial intense burst of drinking that could not be easily disrupted; (b) intermittent drinking, often distinguished by the brief appearance of conflict behavior directed at the drinking spout; and (c) termination of drinking. Drinking stopped well before the fluid loss, reflected in a sizable extracellular deficit, was restored. Intake of water was terminated when serum hyponatremia and hypoosmolality (and presumably cellular overhydration) developed in temporal continguity with drinking. These and other considerations suggest that the cellular fluid phase exerts significant inhibitory as well as excitatory control over drinking. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of desalivation on drinking and air licking induced by water deprivation and hypertonic saline injections.

Previous studies show that desalivate (DS) rats drink more water than controls when maintained on a diet of dry food, but drink less than controls after a period of water deprivation. In the present series of studies, a total of 14 male and 2 female naive hooded rats served as Ss. Results show that DSs ate less food than sham operates (SHs), indicating that DSs' body fluids probably do not become as hyperosmotic as those of the SHs. When Ss were maintained on a moist mash during water deprivation, subsequent water intake and air licking were about the same for DSs and SHs. After combined food and water deprivation, both groups air-licked at greatly reduced rates. After subcutaneous injections of hypertonic saline, DSs air-licked just as much as SHs. It is concluded that DSs drink less after water deprivation because they eat less dry food than SHs during deprivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of SCH23390 and raclopride on anxiety-like behavior in rats tested in the black-white box

Dopamine (DA) systems are activated by stress, and this response has as a corollary the induction of stress-related behaviors such as anxiety. In mice, D2 receptor blockade produces an apparent anxiogenic effect, although locomotor impairments might have been present. We investigated the effects of D1 and D2 antagonists on a variety of anxiety-like behaviors induced by the black-white box in rats and carefully screened for any locomotor deficits. Adult male Lister hooded rats were injected with either the D1 antagonist SCH23390 (0. 0.1. or 0.25 mg/kg i.p.) or the D2 antagonist raclopride (0, 0.05, or 0.10 mg/kg i.p.) 20 min prior to being placed into the white chamber of the black-white box (n = 8-10/group). Rats were videotaped and the tapes were scored for latency to exit the white chamber, latency to reenter the white chamber, time spent in the white chamber, intercompartmental crossing, and locomotor activity. ANOVA revealed no effect of the D1 antagonist SCH23390 on any behavioral measure. However, the raclopride-treated rats left the white area sooner than control rats (p < 0.01). Raclopride-treated rats also exhibited delayed reentry times to the white chamber compared to control rats (p < 0.01) and spent significantly less time in the white chamber (p < 0.05). Neither SCH23390 nor raclopride affected locomotor activity in a manner that confounded these behaviors. These results confirm that D2 receptor blockade enhances anxiety in rats tested in the black-white box.     

Effects of early food deprivation on mouse behavior.

Assessed the effects of early food deprivation upon open-field defecation and activity, running-wheel activity, and food-competition behavior using 76 A/J and 73 DBA/2J mice. Experimental Ss were food deprived from Day 18-27 of life for 10 hr/day. Food-deprived Ss defecated more in the open field and were less active in the running wheels. In these measures, strain and sex interacted with treatment. DBA mice which received the deprivation treatment were less competitive than the comparison Ss, but the treatment did not affect competition in the A/J Ss. It is suggested that the severity of the treatment and age when it was administered interfered with normal development of behavior. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of visual deprivation on depth discrimination of hooded rats.

In a study with hooded rats (N = 530), Ss raised in the dark were compared to light-reared controls. 21-day-old dark-reared (DR) Ss were not different from controls in the discrimination of 4-in depths, but 30-day-old DR Ss were deficient. 60-day-old DR Ss were deficient in discriminating 4-, 6-, and 8-in depths. 30-day-old DR Ss recovered the loss in depth discrimination after 48 hrs in the light. 60-day-old DR Ss had no noticeable recovery to the 4-in depth discrimination, but they did recover discrimination of the 6-in depth after 72 hrs in the light. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of water deprivation and angiotensin II intracerebroventricular administration on brain nitric oxide synthase activity

Intracranial administration of L-arginine causes a reduction of the water intake induced by water deprivation or by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of angiotensin II (angiotensin II), through the release of nitric oxide (NO) in the central nervous system. We studied the effects of i.c.v. angiotensin II (120 ng/rat) in association with i.c.v. L-arginine (2.5-10 microg/rat) on blood pressure. We also studied the effects of both peripheral and central angiotensin II injection (1.5-6 mg kg(-1) i.p. and 30-120 ng rat(-1) i.c.v., respectively) on NO synthase activity in the cortex, diencephalon and brainstem, after water deprivation (24 h), conditions producing activation of the renin-angiotensin system. L-arginine dose dependently antagonized the increase in blood pressure induced by i.c.v. angiotensin II (P < 0.001). Peripheral administration of angiotensin II produced a dose-dependent reduction of NO synthase activity in the brainstem and cortex (P < 0.001), but not in the diencephalon. Water deprivation produced similar effects on brain NO synthase activity. Angiotensin II i.c.v. injection caused NO synthase activity reduction in all brain regions studied (P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that NO and angiotensin II could play opposite roles in brain regulation of blood pressure and drinking behaviour.     

Effects of food deprivation and a stressor on head pain.

This study sought to experimentally validate 2 self-reported trigger factors of headaches, namely negative affect (anxiety, depression, and anger) and hunger, and to investigate whether these triggers activated the same or different physiological mechanisms. Students (38 women and 18 men) who had suffered from frequent headaches (migraine or tension type) for 6 months or more were randomly assigned to 4 conditions, which involved manipulating hunger by means of 19 hr of food deprivation and negative affect by means of a stressor (difficult to solve anagrams). The findings were consistent with self-reports that hunger and negative affect can precipitate headaches in individuals who suffer from both migraine and tension-type headaches. The physiological responses to the experimental conditions differed, but the findings were not conclusive with respect to whether the trigger factors operated by means of a common biological pathway. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diazepam-induced eating and lever pressing for food in sated rats.

Found in 8 experiments with male Wistar rats that diazepam (2.5 mg/kg) produced vigorous eating but not drinking in sated Ss. The effect was found with familiar food in both test box and home cage and during both day and night. Ss trained under food deprivation leverpressed for food but not water under diazepam; the rate of response was dose dependent. Diazepam motivated learning of leverpressing for food but not as well as did deprivation. Diazepam-induced eating lasted 25-30 min and was terminated by feedback from eating, rather than by catabolism of the drug. Stomach loads of food but not of water inhibited the eating. These data indicate that diazepam has specific actions on hunger or food-satiety mechanisms. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sodium balance of hyper- and hypo-natriophilic rats under basal conditions and during sodium deprivation

Sodium and water balance was determined in two strains of Wistar rats selectively bred for high (hypernatriophilic, HR) or low salt preference (hyponatriophilic, HO) under basal conditions and during sodium deprivation. Male rats from each stain were selected for an average ingestion of 1.5% NaCl solution of more than (HR) or less than (HO) 4 ml 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1), during a 10-day period. HR rats (N = 17) presented markedly higher sodium intake under basal conditions (2.983 +/- 0.316 mEq 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1)) than HO rats (N = 12; 0.406 +/- 0.076 mEq 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1); Mann-Whitney test, P < 0.01). Water (HR: 8.6 +/- 0.57; HO: 7.7 +/- 0.32 ml 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1)) and sodium balances (HR: 0.936 +/- 0.153; HO: 0.873 +/- 0.078 mEq 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1)) were similar in both strains, despite a higher sodium and total fluid (HR: 16.3 +/- 1.06; HO: 10.8 +/- 0.49 ml 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1); P < 0.01) ingestion in HR rats. During sodium deprivation HR rats (N = 13) exhibited a sodium balance similar to that of HO rats (N = 13) (HR: -0.159 +/- 0.011; HO: -0.129 +/- 0.019 mEq 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1)), and, in addition, an adequate suppression of natriuresis (HR: 0.049 +/- 0.011; HO: 0.026 +/- 0.004 mEq 100 g body weight (-1) day (-1)). These data show that HR rats present hypernatriophilia as a primary trait, since their sodium-conserving mechanisms are intact. Therefore, these rats provide an adequate model to study factors that determine innate sodium preference.     

Long- and short-term social deprivation and sociability in rats.

Conducted 4 experiments in which a total of 192 Sprague-Dawley albino rats were housed in pairs or apart for periods ranging from 15 min. to 15 mo. Long-term social isolation led to significant increases in social attraction, especially when the testing environment was familiar, and the immediately previous level of social contact was more important than prior social experience. Results suggest that the motivational consequences of social deprivation were more important than the opportunity for social learning afforded by social contact. Periods of social contact as short as 15-360 min. led to significant decreases in affiliation, while comparable periods of social deprivation had no significant effect, further supporting a motivational interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)