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Improved multiparameter models of drug effects on response rate under multiple variable interval schedules: evidence
1Department of Psychology, Morris Brown College, 643 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30314, USA. fernando.gonzalez@morrisbrown.edu
Psychopharmacology
|October 10, 2002
Summary
A three-parameter mathematical model accurately describes how drugs affect behavior under multi-component multiple variable interval (multVI) schedules. This model offers a better understanding of drug-induced behavioral changes and can aid in classifying drug effects.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral pharmacology
- Mathematical modeling in psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Functional analysis of drug effects on behavior is limited by a lack of mathematical models.
- A two-parameter model from the matching law effectively describes responding under multi-component multiple variable interval (multVI) schedules.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the descriptive accuracy of a two-parameter model and its three-parameter variant for drug effects on responding under multVI schedules.
Main Methods:
- Reanalysis of data from seven published studies on drug effects under multVI schedules.
Main Results:
- The three-parameter model provided a more accurate description of drug effects on responding compared to the two-parameter model.
- The three-parameter model effectively explains the relationship between response rates under drug and no-drug conditions, supporting the rate dependency hypothesis.
Conclusions:
- The three-parameter model can be enhanced by incorporating a parameter for base response rate (response rate at zero reinforcement).
- Model parameters can facilitate a classification system for drug effects on behavior under multVI schedules.
- Relating drug-induced parameter changes to brain function measurements can integrate behavioral and biological analyses of drug action.