Molecular analyses for operant behavior in dynamic situations

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Reinforcement delay, reinforcement latency, intertrial intervals (ITIs), and interresponse time (IRT) are possible candidates of temporal variables in molecular analysis of operant behavior. We focused on some temporal variables in the several dynamic situations : (1) the effects of ITI and reinforcement delay in the delayed matching to sample (DMTS) task, (2) effects of reinforcement latency on choice in concurrent FI RI schedules, (3) changes in IRTs in the resistance-to-change experiments, (4) systematic IRT control in the rhythmic tapping situation, and (5) point-process analysis of IRTs during VI versus VR schedules. We obtained the following results.(1) When a DMTS task of yes-no type was used, the results showed that the discriminability parameter, d', increased as it is lengthened. Furthermore, when additional responses for choice were required, time for completing these responses increased. (2) Pigeons' responding was demonstrated to be controlled by duration of an immediately … More preceding reinforcement latency and by a time marker that signaled the onset of a present reinforcement latency. Furthermore, the preference reversal phenomenon that has been demonstrated in self-control experiments was demonstrated in the present experiment that used reinforcement latency instead of reinforcement delay. (3) In order to examine the different effects of two disruptors (prefeeding and extinction), we used distribution of response bouts as a new measure. The results showed the equal resistance to change on both the disruptors, suggesting that this measure was not sensitive to the differences of the disruptors. However, as in previous studies, resistance to change assessed by the overall response rates depended not on the response rates within bouts but on the rates of bout-initiation. (4) Using tapping behavior as a material for time series analysis, we examined variability of IRTs when short inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) of rhythmic guiding sounds were perturbed randomly or cyclically, and also measured discriminative thresholds of the ISI. When ISI perturbation level was close to the threshold, IRTs were controlled by the last ISIs and varied cyclically corresponding to the ISI perturbation cycle. (5) Point-process analysis can directly analyze time structure of responses, which cannot obtained from conventional behavioral measures such as IRTs or response rates. The results suggested that VI and yoked VR schedules generated the similarly clustered responses, but that the properties of time structure were quite different. Less