LEARNING AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

本研究的目的是探讨学习机制。 学习是基于过去的行为适应的重要形式 体验.学习心理学研究的基石 世纪的一个假设是，学习机制是 在不同物种和情况下都是相似的。例如，这个假设 为许多神经生物学研究提供了基础， 学习的基础。在普遍性假设的鼓舞下， 对学习的研究仅限于少数几个模型系统。在 例如，大多数关于动物学习的行为研究， 饥饿或口渴或恐惧的动机。这项研究将测试 学习机制的一般性，通过调查学习在一个 明显不同的反应系统，生殖行为。除了 提供关于学习机制的一般性的信息， 研究可能会导致发现适应性学习的专业化 并可能提供有助于开发 性功能障碍的动物模型。 因为这些实验需要控制和操纵 受试者的历史，研究将与动物饲养进行 专门为目的。日本鹌鹑，一种家养家禽 特别适合于性行为的实验室研究， 采用 其中一组实验将致力于探索学习是如何 参与由物种特异性刺激引起的性行为 羽毛和鹌鹑的其他特征。另一组实验 将致力于探索受试者如何能够适应 对任意刺激有性反应在每组实验中， 性行为的不同组成部分将分别进行调查。 该研究将解决以下类型的问题： 学会接近雌性并与之保持距离女性的特征 能有效诱导交配行为吗男性受试者如何学会 区别对待男性和女性？条件语境线索是如何 影响性行为？

The purpose of the proposed research is to investigate learning mechanisms. Learning is an important form of behavioral adaptation based on past experience. A cornerstone of psychological research on learning in the twentieth century has been the assumption that learning mechanisms are similar across species and situations. For example, this assumption has provided the foundation for much of the research on the neurobiological bases of learning. Encouraged by the assumption of generality, investigations of learning have been limited to a few model systems. In most behavioral research on animal learning, for example, the subjects are motivated by hunger or thirst, or by fear. The proposed research will test the generality of learning mechanisms by investigating learning in a markedly different response system, reproductive behavior. In addition to providing information about the generality of learning mechanisms, the research may lead to the discovery of adaptive specializations of learning and may provide information that will be useful in the development of animal models of sexual dysfunction. Because the experiments require controlling and manipulating the sexual history of the subjects, the research will be conducted with animals raised specifically for the purpose. Japanese quail, a domesticated poultry especially well suited to laboratory research on sexual behavior, will be used. One set of experiments will be devoted to exploring how learning is involved in sexual behavior elicited by species specific stimuli provided by plumage and other characteristics of quail. Another set of experiments will be devoted to exploring how the subjects can become conditioned to respond sexually to arbitrary stimuli. In each set of experiments, different components of sexual behavior will be investigated separately. The research will address the following types of questions: How do males learn to approach and remain near females? What makes features of females effective in eliciting copulatory behavior? How do male subjects learn to discriminate between males and females? How do conditioned contextual cues influence sexual behavior?