title: Immediate postsession feeding reduces operant responding in rats.
abstract: Three experiments investigated the effects of immediate and delayed postsession feeding on progressive-ratio and variable-interval schedule performance in rats. During Experiments 1 and 2, immediate postsession feeding decreased the breakpoint, or largest completed ratio, under progressive-ratio schedules. Experiment 3 was conducted to extend the results of the first two experiments to responding maintained by variable-interval schedules with different session lengths (15 and 60 min). Response rates decreased in all 4 subjects when postsession feeding immediately followed a 15-min session and in 3 of 4 subjects when postsession feeding immediately followed a 60-min session. The implications of this research are twofold: (1) The functional context in which within-session reinforcers are embedded extends outside the experimental chamber, and (2) supplemental postsession feedings should be sufficiently delayed from the end of a session to avoid weakening operant behavior in the experimental sessions.
authors.affiliation: Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, USA. jsmethells@gmail.com
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Smethells
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Reilly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D013997:Time Factors