Responding for sucrose and wheel-running reinforcement: effect of body weight manipulation

Behavioural Processes
Terry W Belke

Abstract

As body weight increases, the excitatory strength of a stimulus signaling an opportunity to run should weaken to a greater degree than that of a stimulus signaling an opportunity to eat. To test this hypothesis, six male albino Wistar rats were placed in running wheels and exposed to a fixed interval 30-s schedule that produced either a drop of 15% sucrose solution or the opportunity to run for 15s as reinforcing consequences for lever pressing. Each reinforcer type was signaled by a different stimulus. The effect of varying body weight on responding maintained by these two reinforcers was investigated by systematically increasing and decreasing post-session food amounts. The initial body weight was 335 g. Body weights were increased to approximately 445 g and subsequently returned to 335 g. As body weight increased, overall and local lever-pressing rates decreased while post-reinforcement pauses lengthened. Analysis of post-reinforcement pauses and local lever-pressing rates in terms of transitions between successive reinforcers revealed that local response rates in the presence of stimuli signaling upcoming wheel and sucrose reinforcers were similarly affected. However, pausing in the presence of the stimulus signaling a whee...Continue Reading

References

Feb 24, 2001·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·T L BroderickT Belke
Jun 1, 1962·Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology·F R TREICHLER, J F HALL
Jun 1, 1964·Psychological Bulletin·A BAUMEISTERR L CROMWELL
Oct 1, 1959·Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology·M J MOSKOWITZ
Jul 1, 1997·Behavioural Processes·S A Ferguson, M G Paule

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Citations

Jul 29, 2009·Behavioral Neuroscience·Robin B KanarekWendy Foulds Mathes
Jun 1, 2010·Behavioural Pharmacology·Shilo L Smith, Erin B Rasmussen
Dec 4, 2015·Behavioural Processes·Terry W Belke, W David Pierce
Jun 18, 2005·Behavioural Pharmacology·T W BelkeJ A Beye
Sep 28, 2006·Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior·Terry W BelkeIan D Duncan
Nov 1, 2007·Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior·Terry W Belke, Theodore Garland

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