A simultaneous temporal processing account of response rate.
The goal was to determine whether a signal (e.g., a click) at food availability affects timing behavior in rats. Twenty-four rats were trained on an appetitive lever-press procedure that varied on two dimensions: shape of the interreinforcer distribution (i.e., fixed-interval 60s or random-interval 60s) and number of signals (i.e., the presence or absence of a click at the time of reinforcer availability). The rats were randomly partitioned into one of four groups (each group had six rats): Fixed, Signaled-Fixed, Random, and Signaled-Random. The shape of the interreinforcer distribution affected the response pattern; the presence of the click affected response rate. These results provide support for a simultaneous temporal processing account of behavior.
Macinnis
Mika L M
ML
Brown University, United States. Mika@Brown.edu
Marshall
Andrew T
AT
Freestone
David M
DM
Church
Russell M
RM
D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception; D003463:Cues; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception