Instrumental performance following saccharin pre-feeding

Area of Science:

• Behavioral neuroscience
• Animal learning theory

Background:

• Instrumental performance is influenced by motivational states.
• Pre-feeding effects on behavior are complex and depend on training parameters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how pre-feeding with a non-nutritive substance affects instrumental performance under different reinforcement schedules.
• To differentiate between incentive and drive mechanisms in mediating pre-feeding effects.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted with rats.
• Instrumental performance was trained using variable ratio and variable interval schedules.
• Pre-feeding involved a saccharin solution, followed by extinction testing.

Main Results:

• Pre-feeding with saccharin significantly depressed instrumental performance following variable ratio schedule training.
• Instrumental performance remained unaffected by saccharin pre-feeding after variable interval schedule training.

Conclusions:

• The impact of pre-feeding on instrumental performance is dependent on the reinforcement schedule.
• Motivational effects of non-nutritive pre-feeding appear to operate via an incentive process rather than a drive process.