Journal article
HABITUATION CONTRIBUTES TO WITHIN‐SESSION CHANGES IN FREE WHEEL RUNNING
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, Vol.76(3), pp.289-302
11/2001
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/109162
PMCID: PMC1284839
PMID: 11768712
Abstract
Three experiments tested the hypothesis that habituation contributes to the regulation of wheel running. Rats ran in a wheel for 30‐min sessions. Experiment 1 demonstrated spontaneous recovery. Rats ran more and the within‐session decreases in running were smaller after 2 days of wheel deprivation than after 1 day. Experiment 2 demonstrated dishabituation. Running rate increased immediately after the termination of a brief extra event (application of the brake or flashing of the houselight). Experiment 3 demonstrated stimulus specificity. Rats completed the second half of the session in either the same wheel as the first half, or a different wheel. Second‐half running was faster in the latter case. Within‐session patterns of running were well described by equations that describe data from the habituation, motivation, and operant literatures. These results suggest that habituation contributes to the regulation of running. In fact, habituation provides a better explanation for the termination of wheel running than fatigue, the variable to which this termination is usually attributed. Overall, the present findings are consistent with the proposition that habituation and sensitization contribute to the regulation of several forms of motivated behavior.
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Details
- Title
- HABITUATION CONTRIBUTES TO WITHIN‐SESSION CHANGES IN FREE WHEEL RUNNING
- Creators
- Kenjiro AoyamaFrances K McSweeney
- Publication Details
- Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, Vol.76(3), pp.289-302
- Academic Unit
- Psychology, Department of
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Oxford, UK
- Number of pages
- 14
- Identifiers
- 99900547480901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article