Environmental enrichment reduces impulsivity during appetitive conditioning.

Full Abstract

Although environmental enrichment is presumed to enhance learning, appetitive behavior may also be altered by this experience:
anticipatory responding for sucrose is reduced in environmentally enriched (EE) rats [van der Harst, J.E., Baars, A.M. and Spruijt, B.M. Standard housed rats are more sensitive to rewards than enriched housed rats as reflected by their anticipatory behaviour. Behav Brain Res 2003;142:151-156]. To assess the impact of differential environmental experience on learning and appetitive behavior, we trained 17 EE and socially isolated (SI) rats in a three-phase, operant-shaping procedure for sucrose reinforcement. In phase one, a feeder cue was paired with sucrose availability. In phase two, a nose poke to either one of two lit holes on the opposing wall activated the feeder cue. In phase three, the feeder cue was elicited by a poke to a single lit hole. While acquisition rates in phase one and phase two were similar, EE animals reached phase-three criteria [completion of 100 trials in 45 min and 15 or fewer bad pokes] faster than SI animals. These two groups showed similar session completion rates, reinforced and non-reinforced licking responses, and overall behavioral activity during phase three acquisition; however, SI rats performed more bad pokes (responses to the non-lit hole after nose-poke cue onset) and intertrial interval (ITI) pokes during this training period. Because all ITI (and presumably many bad) pokes were initiated before onset of nose-poke cue, this difference indicates greater anticipatory responding in SI animals. This experience-dependent alteration in appetitive behavior may explain, in part, the tendency of SI rats to show attenuated learning rates in appetitive contexts in which complex contingencies exist.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Wood, David A (DA); Siegel, Amy K (AK); Rebec, George V (GV);

Affiliation: Program in Neuroscience, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. Tenth Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7007, USA.

Grants: DA 02451 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; DA 05312 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; DA 12964 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS) ; DA 19300 (Agency:NIDA NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: Physiology & behavior (Physiol Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Jun; vol 88 (issue 1-2) : pp 132-7

Dates: Created 2006/06/05; Completed 2006/08/10; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 16678224, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals
Appetitive Behavior - physiology
Behavior, Animal
Conditioning, Operant - physiology
Environment
Impulsive Behavior - physiopathology

Associated Chemicals: Sucrose (57-50-1)

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.