Related Experiment Videos
Apomorphine-induced pecking in pigeons classically conditioned to environmental cues
1Experimentelle Tierpsychologie, Psychologisches Institut, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany.
Psychopharmacology
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Apomorphine, a dopamine agonist, can be classically conditioned to elicit pecking behavior in pigeons. This finding explains sensitization effects and suggests apomorphine acts as a positive reinforcer.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Dopamine agonists, like apomorphine, are known to induce specific behaviors.
- Understanding classical conditioning mechanisms is crucial for behavioral science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if apomorphine functions as an unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning of pecking behavior in pigeons.
- To explore the role of apomorphine in associative learning.
Main Methods:
- A differentiation procedure was employed to control for pseudoconditioning.
- Pigeons were trained with distinct visual stimuli (CS+, CS-) paired with apomorphine or saline injections.
- Post-training tests assessed pecking responses in the absence of injections.
Main Results:
- Pigeons exhibited significantly more pecks in the conditioned stimulus positive (CS+) chamber compared to the conditioned stimulus negative (CS-) chamber.
- Both discrete and diffuse visual cues effectively served as conditioned stimuli.
- The conditioned pecking response was reliably elicited by the previously neutral stimulus paired with apomorphine.
Conclusions:
- Apomorphine can function as an unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning, establishing learned pecking responses.
- The learned association may explain sensitization observed with repeated apomorphine administration.
- Apomorphine likely also acts as a positive reinforcer in instrumental conditioning paradigms.