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PubMed1977

Sensory discriminability comparisons in human and monkey with implications for the study of central nervous correlates.

Psychophysical measurements of sensory discriminability were obtained from rhesus monkeys and humans to suprathreshold electrical cutaneous stimulation by employing a two-choice discrimination task and a signal detection theoretical analysis. Sensory discriminatory capacities were found to be similar for monkeys and humans. Choice-latency data permitted the construction of relative operating characteristic (ROC) functions for both groups. These functions provided similar descriptions of the hypothetical sensory process underlying the discrimination performance of both species. Theoretical predictions were made concerning characteristics of the underlying sensory activity and tested by a joint analysis of behavior and somatosensory evoked potentials obtained from monkeys. Results indicated that the magnitude of an average evoked component with peaks at 40 and 70 msec in one monkey, and 60 and 100 msec in the other, correlated well with behavioral choices and choice latencies. The evidence obtained in these studies was discussed in the context of neural coding of sensation in humans and monkeys.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

[Morphine dependence and preference. (I). Morphine preference in naive and morphine-experienced rats].

The spontnaeous morphine intake ratio (M-SIR) under free access to morphine-admixed food and quinine-admixed food conditions was measured for 3 weeks in naive and morphine-experienced rats. In the case of morphine (0.5 mg/g of food) vs. quinine (0.5 mg/g of food), naive rats gradually increased M-SIR from 17% to 77%. Using a higher level of morphine- and quinine-admixed food (1 mg/g vs. 1 mg/g of food), M-SIR was more rapidly increased than that in the lower group. Thus while on the 10 approximately 60 mg/kg/day dose range, the M-SIR was gradually increased dose dependently in naive rats due mainly to the positive reinforcing properties of morphine. Morphine-experienced rats showed a significant increase in M-SIR for the first 4 days specifically as compared with naive rats. Morphine dependent rats thus obtained morphine in sufficient amounts to maintain dependent states only after the first 2 approximately 3 days. This choice behavior revealed the psychological aspects of morphine dependence in rats and the preference for morphine was also observed after withdrawal for more than 2 weeks as secondary abstinence syndrome.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Predictors of adult humans' self-control and impulsiveness for food reinforcers.

Humans vary in the degree to which they demonstrate self-control--choice of larger, more delayed over smaller, less delayed reinforcers. When reinforcers consist of food, individual human subjects' choice behavior varies from virtually exclusive self-control to exclusive impulsiveness. The present experiment, using 26 men and 26 women subjects, explored some possible sources of this individual variation through assessing the correlation of behaviors exhibited in the self-control paradigm with various subject characteristics. The results suggest that self-control is negatively related to individuals' reported susceptibility to hunger (Factor 3 of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire) and positively related to overall rating of juice desirability, but not to gender or to various measures of caloric deprivation or personality. Relatively high self-perceived levels of food deprivation may decrease self-control, whereas assigning a relatively high value to the reinforcer may increase self-control. Both tendencies would have been adaptive for evolving humans.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

[Dependence on and preference for morphine (II). Comparison among morphine, phenobarbital and diazepam].

Results of a previous experiment indicated that naive rats given a choice between morphine-admixed food (0.5 similar to 1mg/g of food) and quinine-admixed food (0.5 similar to 1 mg/g of food) for 3 weeks gradually and spontaneously preferred the morphine-admixed food, and this choice behavior revealed one of the psychological aspects of morphine dependent rats. In the present work, the ability of preference formation was detected for morphine, phenobarbital and diazepam by a defferent chioce test using drug dependent rats. Rats were pretreated with morpnine, phenobarbital, and/or diazepam by drug admixed food ingestion method for 12 similar to 15 weeks, and the choice test was practiced for one week at 3 intervals (4 similar to 5 trials). Control groups of rats were given the same choice testas the naive rats. Results indicated that (a) of all the drugs employed, morphine showed the most rapid and intensive preference formation (b) Phenobarbital and diazepam had almost the same degree of preference formation. (c) Phenobarbital showed no dose-dependent intensity of preference formation in the 50-90 mg/kg/day dose range, however, a more rapid development of preference was observed dose-dependently among the 80-120 mg/kg/day dose range of diazepam. Thus these studies utilizing a choice test provide a clear demonstration of drug-seeking behavior in rats. In addition, the present method is useful for drug screening tests involving weak psychological dependence liability, and moreover, the data could be analyzed statistically.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Micro-effects of language on risk perception in drug prescribing behavior.

The decision to prescribe neuroleptics for the treatment of psychosis involves a potentially tragic choice between, on the one hand, a probability of psychosis and a probability of side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia, on the other. In an experimental paradigm, we examined this decision process. We hypothesized that linguistic factors considered irrelevant under classical formulations of individual choice behavior would have a significant effect on this decision. All subjects were presented with a case vignette involving a potentially psychotic patient. Subjects were then asked what probability of tardive dyskinesia they would either "accept" or "risk" in order to prevent psychotic decompensation. In addition this factor was crossed with a contextual factor that varied the patient's age. The effect of "risk" versus "accept" language was evident in significantly different patterns of decision making across age groups. The data have important implications for clinical decision making, the elicitation of informed consent, and the directions that the courts have taken in malpractice and patient's rights cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Cardiovascular changes during social competition in a mixed-motive game.

Male and female subjects played a mixed-motive game against a male confederate under either a 20% cooperative or an 80% cooperative strategy while cardiovascular responses were computer monitored. Females had larger heart rate responses than males during play against the competitive strategy, and the opposite was true during play against the cooperative strategy. Subjects who were more competitive during the game or who scored higher on a coronary-prone (Type A) behavior scale or who reported having an action orientation toward life stress tended to have larger heart rate responses during the game than the remaining subjects. The results draw attention to the importance of covert autonomic responses for understanding overt behavioral choices in mixed-motive games and to the potential utility of this behavioral model for studying the role of psychosocial factors in psychosomatic illnesses.

Competitive Behavior↗
PubMed1978

Interaction of chemosensory, visual, and statocyst pathways in Hermissenda crassicornis.

Neurons in the cerebropleural ganglia (CPG), photoreceptors in the eye, optic ganglion cells, and statocyst hair cells of the nudibranch mollusk Hermissenda crassicornis responded in specific ways, as recorded intracellularly, to stimulation of the chemosensory pathway originating at the tentacular chemoreceptors as well as to stimulation of the visual pathway originating at the photoreceptors. Synaptic inhibition of photoreceptors occurs via the chemosensory pathway. The possible significance of such intersensory interaction is discussed with reference to preliminary investigation of the animal's gustatory behavior and possible neural mechanisms of behavioral choice.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Monitoring neuronal activity during discrete behaviors: a crawling, swimming and shortening device for tethered leeches.

An apparatus is described which facilities continuous electrophysiological recordings in segmental ganglia of leeches while the animal performs different behavioral patterns: crawling, swimming or shortening. Both the behaviors and neuronal recordings are monitored by a video camera system and can be evaluated simultaneously. The device is well suited to investigate questions of behavioral choice and neuronal decision-making mechanisms in these animals. It can also be modified to study the neural control of behavior in other aquatic animals, such as snails.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

[Reconsideration of the Latin lover. An etno-communicational vignette with a moral].

The latin lover is a model of the self-fulfilling prophecy: you have to believe in him to be able to find him. The sequence that produces the latin lover includes the following ingredients: a) the "neutral" face-to-face distance for Latins is similar to the "seductive" face-to-face distance of non-Latins (more specifically, of Anglo-Saxons and Nord-Europeans); b) non-Latins do not detect the influence of their own cultural stereotype, the "Latin Lover", in their perception of the other's behavior; c) if the non-Latin choses to contribute his/her own share of seductive behavior, he/she will label that performance as a "response" to the message attributed to the Latin; d) the Latin, in turn, is forced by the pressures of his own cultural stereotypes to respond to a seductive advance with more seductive behavior; he labels his own behavior as a "response" to uncalled for behavior on the part of the non-Latin; e) that readiness to escalate seduction reinforces, in the eyes of the non-Latin, the first meaning attributed to that spacial choice behavior of the Latin. The case illustrates certain notions of communication theory, especially issues of "punctuation" and text-context relationships.

Behavior↗
PubMed1992

Self-concept change and self-presentation: the looking glass self is also a magnifying glass.

Studies 1 and 2 showed that identical behaviors had greater impact on the self-concept when performed publicly rather than privately. That is, the self-concept is more likely to change by internalizing public behavior than by internalizing behavior that is identical but lacks the interpersonal context. The self-concept change extends even to behavioral changes and occurs even when participants are unaware of being observed. In addition, those who are high in self-monitoring are more likely to internalize their behavior than those who are low in self-monitoring. Study 3 provided evidence about what components of a public situation affect the internalization of behavior. Choice about making the self-portrayal, drawing on episodes from one's own past rather than relying on a yoked script, and expecting future interaction with the audience all increased the internalization of a public behavior.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Sexual pheromones in lipids and other fractions from urine of the male mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi.

Spalax ehrenbergi mole rats are blind, solitary, territorial, aggressive, subterranean rodents with a yearly breeding season that peaks in December and January. We confirm here an earlier report that estrous females are attracted to substances present in the urine of homospecific as compared to heterospecific adult males. We have also found that nonestrous female mole rats show avoidance behavior to the same homospecific urine. Our objective was to ascertain the nature of the pheromone(s) and gain insight as to its possible role in reproductive isolation and speciation. An active principle, detected in either two- or three-choice behavior tests, was found to be extractable from urine by methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) and mainly found in the neutral lipid fraction. Total lipids were chromatographed by thin layer chromatography on silica gel G60 plates. Most of the activity was found in a zone bounded by Rfs 0.2 and 0.7. Cholesterol, other sterols, and ethyl esters of fatty acids chromatographed in this zone as determined by standards and staining. Ethyl esters of fatty acids were also detected in this fraction by GC/MS analysis. Although a large amount of activity was found in lipids, it only accounted for about 1% of that found in urine. Some activity may have been destroyed or lost during the extraction procedure and some may remain in a lipid insoluble form. Preliminary tests of lipid extracts of various portions of the male urogenital tract revealed pheromonal activity present, particularly in tissues associated with testes, epididymis, prostate, and bladder.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Evidence supporting lack of discriminative stimulus properties of a combination of naltrexone and morphine.

The aim of the present experiment was to study the potentially discriminable effects of combinations of morphine and naltrexone during long-term treatment. Three groups of gerbils had to discriminate the effects of morphine (12 mg/kg) and those of either saline (4 ml/kg), naltrexone (2 mg/kg), or a combination of this dose of morphine plus naltrexone injected IP 60 min prior to the start of the discriminative training in a T-shaped maze. Rapid development of drug discriminative control of choice behavior (left or right turn in the maze) was evident in these 3 groups which is in marked contrast to the performance of gerbils trained with morphine-naltrexone combination vs. saline or gerbils trained with naltrexone only vs. saline. Neither of these latter groups reached the criterion of performing 8 correct first-trial choices in 10 consecutive training sessions during the 60 training sessions allowed, while the 3 other groups began their criterion performance after only 7--8 training sessions. Thus the discriminative properties of certain combinations of morphine and naltrexone are weak and therfore are not easily discriminable from the effects induced by saline.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Following and visual imprinting in ducklings across a wide age range.

Ducklings ranging in age from 20-125 hr were exposed to a moving silent object in an open circular apparatus until a criterion of 300 sec of following was met. All ducklings met the criterion, and age did not correlate with the time required. In subsequent choice tests most ducklings approached the imprinting object over a novel object, and age did not correlate with choice behavior. Results indicate that imprinting can occur over a fairly wide age range, and that the traditional critical period for imprinting may, in part, be an artifact of laboratory methods.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Tolerance, withdrawal, and supersensitivity to dopamine mediated cues in a drug-drug discrimination.

Rats were trained to discriminate between 0.25 mg/kg amphetamine (AMPH) and 0.03 mg/kg haloperidol (HAL) in a two-lever drug discrimination task. In order to test for a drug-induced withdrawal state, animals were assigned to one of three chronic treatment groups and given injections of AMPH, HAL, or distilled water (DW) for 10 consecutive days. Subjects from each treatment condition were then tested at 24, 48, or 72 h after the final injection. At the 24 h retest interval, subjects injected with AMPH responded as though administered an acute dose of HAL (0.028 mg/kg) and subjects injected with chronic HAL responded as though administered an acute dose of AMPH (0.15 mg/kg). By 72 h choice behavior had returned to pretreatment values. To determine whether the rebound observed after 10 days of drug treatment was present after a single injection, independent groups of subjects were injected with single doses of either 10 mg/kg AMPH or 1.0 mg/kg HAL and then retested from 4 h to 48 h later. Single doses of both AMPH and HAL produced significant rebounds that peaked between 20 h (AMPH) and 24 h (HAL) following administration. In a third experiment, animals were tested with or without acute doses of drug following pretreatment with either HAL or AMPH. Receptor supersensitivity accounts for the tolerance observed to HAL 24 h after treatment with 1.0 mg/kg HAL, whereas receptor subsensitivity accounts for the tolerance observed 20 h after treatment with 10 mg/kg AMPH.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The Bezold-Brücke effect in the color vision system of the honeybee.

Evidence is presented that intensity dependent color shifts (Bezold-Brücke effect) occur in the color vision system of the honeybee. The evidence comes from a fit between the choices of monochromatic lights in training experiments (Menzel, R., 1981; Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 141, 389-393) and the choice percentages derived now from recently presented quantitative predictions from the color opponent coding (COC) model for the bee (Backhaus, W., 1991; Vision Research, 31, 1381-1397) for the Bezold-Brücke effect. The only open parameter in the simulations of the training experiments is an experiment type dependent factor describing the weighting of color differences (judgement values) in the choice behavior. The results show (1) that the Bezold-Brücke effect exists in the bee. The results (2) confirm the color opponent coding (COC) model which was developed to describe the physiological components of the color vision system in the bee, (3) the general psychophysical assumptions about the structure of the color space, (4) the color difference formula, and (5) the general psychophysical assumptions about the (triadic) structure of judgements as tested in color similarity experiments.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and pentobarbital as discriminative cues in the Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Male Mongolian gerbils were trained to escape electric shocks in a T-shaped maze contingent upon the presence or absence of certain drug effects (state-dependency; StD). The drug discriminative cues used were those of either delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or pentobarbital (P-barb.) vis-à-vis the respective vehicles. Several doses of THC (0.5-16.0 mg/kg) were used and compared with P-barb. (20.0 mg/kg), a dose at which the most rapid drug discrimination occurs in the rat. When drug discrimination was established dose-time- and transfer characteristics for the training drugs were studied. Possible potentiation and antagonism was also examined in the pentobarbital trained gerbils. It was found that none of the THC doses were discriminated as rapidly as that of P-barb. Decreasing the amounts of training drug administered or increasing the injection-test intervals resulted in a decline of the number of drug associated choices. There was a maximum of 40% drug choices between THC and P-barb at the transfer tests. Mixtures of the two compounds increased the number of drug choices in an additive or even more than additive manner. Amphetamine (4.0 mg/kg) did not interact with the P-barb. induced choice responding. The analeptic drug, bemegride was found effective in antagonizing the P-barb. cued choice behavior.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1992

Spectral sensitivity of monocularly deprived cats.

The reports of rod-dominated psychophysical spectral sensitivity from the deprived eye of monocularly lid-sutured (MD) monkeys are intriguing but difficult to reconcile with the absence of any reported deprivation effects in retina. As most studies of MD retina have been from cat, we have examined psychophysically the increment threshold spectral sensitivity of MD cats using both reaction time and simultaneous two-choice behavioral procedures. Although the deprived eyes exhibited an absolute increment threshold sensitivity deficit, both rod and cone spectral sensitivity functions were obtained on large white backgrounds. This normal transition from rod to cone vision, as background luminance increased, was also found in threshold vs. intensity functions. Using their deprived eye, some cats exhibited a rod spectral sensitivity function when a smaller, normally photopic, background was used providing some support for a hypothesis that the rod-dominated spectral sensitivity observed in monkey may represent detection of scattered stimulus light. Alternatively monocular deprivation may reveal a rod-dominated mechanism which exists in monkey but not in cat.

Animals↗