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The effects of morphine on fixed-interval patterning and temporal discrimination.
1West Virginia University, USA. aodum@hopper.unh.edu
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|October 12, 2000
Summary
Morphine impaired pigeons' ability to discern time intervals and alter their response patterns. These findings suggest drug effects on behavior are not solely due to altered time perception.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral pharmacology
- Animal behavior studies
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Drug effects on behavior are often linked to altered temporal discrimination.
- Fixed-interval schedules reveal patterns in response rates over time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of morphine on pigeons' temporal discrimination and response patterning.
- To test the hypothesis that drug-induced changes in response patterns stem from altered time perception.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons were trained on a fixed-interval schedule with interpolated temporal discrimination tasks.
- Morphine was administered at doses ranging from 1.0 to 10.0 mg/kg.
- Response patterning (index of curvature) and accuracy in temporal discrimination were measured.
Main Results:
- Morphine decreased the index of curvature during fixed intervals.
- Morphine reduced accuracy in temporal discrimination trials for both short and long durations.
- Accuracy was impaired equally across different time intervals.
Conclusions:
- Morphine disrupts both response patterning and temporal discrimination in pigeons.
- The results challenge the interpretation that morphine's effects on response patterning are solely due to overestimating elapsed time.
- Drug-induced behavioral changes may involve broader mechanisms than just temporal perception alterations.