Operant conditioning of H-reflex in freely moving monkeys.
The H-reflex, the electrical analog of the stretch reflex or tendon jerk, is the simplest behavior of the primate CNS. It is subserved by a wholly spinal two-neuron reflex arc. Recent studies show that this reflex can be increased or decreased by operant conditioning, and that such conditioning causes plastic changes in the spinal cord itself. Thus, H-reflex conditioning provides a powerful new model for investigating primate memory traces. The key feature of this model, the conditioning task, originally required animal restraint. This report describes a new tether-based design that allows H-reflex measurement and conditioning without restraint. This design integrates the conditioning task into the life of the freely moving animal.
Wolpaw
J R
JR
Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, Albany 12201.
Herchenroder
P A
PA
D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D006181:H-Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D008251:Macaca / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012023:Reflex, Monosynaptic / Q000502:physiology*; D012107:Research Design; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*