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Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
Published on: February 4, 2016
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Conditioned object preference: an alternative approach to measuring reward learning in rats
Bruce C Kennedy1, Maulika Kohli2, Jamie J Maertens2
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA bruceck2@gmail.com.
Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
|December 6, 2016
Summary
Rats readily develop conditioned object preference (COP) for rewards like cocaine, showing this behavior is influenced by reward value and context. This Pavlovian conditioning model offers new ways to study reward processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Psychology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior can be directed towards discrete cues or environmental contexts.
- Conditioned object preference (COP) describes a tendency to approach object cues previously associated with reward.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize conditioned object preference (COP) in rats using discrete object cues.
- To investigate the influence of reward value and context on COP.
- To establish COP as a behavioral tool for studying reward processing mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Rats were conditioned to associate objects with cocaine or saline.
- Object investigation times were used to assess preference.
- Extinction and renewal tests were conducted to examine COP modulation.
- Dose-dependent effects of cocaine on COP were evaluated.
Main Results:
- Rats acquired a preference for cocaine-paired objects.
- Object investigation during conditioning predicted preference.
- COP scaled with the dose of cocaine used.
- COP was renewed when retested in the original conditioning context.
Conclusions:
- Conditioned object preference is readily acquired and measurable in rats.
- COP is sensitive to reward value and contextual cues.
- This paradigm provides a valuable tool for investigating adaptive and maladaptive reward processing.
