title: Molecular and molar analyses of fixed-interval performance.
abstract: Fixed-interval performances of rats were described either in terms of the individual intervals of the session or in terms of a single average interval constructed for the entire session. Responding in the individual intervals usually followed break-and-run and single response patterns rather than the scalloped pattern that emerged when the results were averaged. There was, however, a reasonable correspondence between the quarter-life values calculated from individual intervals and those calculated from the averages. According to the pattern exhibited by the average interval, the probability of a response increased as the interval elapsed. The same conclusion was indicated by more molecular analyses of the conditional probabilities of pause terminations. The results showed that descriptions of fixed-interval data in terms of overall averages reveal aspects of performance that are not immediately apparent within individual intervals.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 53201.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leinenweber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning; D002648:Child; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule