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Sustaining temporal attention prevents habit expression during operant learning in rats
Ziqiao Lin1, Hiromi Nishikawa1, Yoshio Iguchi2,3
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan.
Scientific Reports
|June 27, 2020
Summary
Repeated action can lead to habits, but fixed interval schedules prevent this. This study found that contingent cues during fixed interval training allowed habit formation, suggesting attentional demands initially inhibit habits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Psychology
- Animal Cognition
Background:
- Repeated operant performance transitions goal-directed actions to habitual responses.
- Action-outcome contingency learning is necessary for this transition.
- Fixed interval (FI) schedules resist habit expression, but the mechanism is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate why fixed interval (FI) schedules prevent habit expression.
- Test the hypothesis that sustained attention required for FI schedules inhibits habit transition.
Main Methods:
- Rats underwent operant training under an FI schedule.
- Auditory cues were presented either contingent or non-contingent with lever pressing for reward.
- Habit formation was assessed based on performance.
Main Results:
- Habit developed in rats receiving contingent cues during FI training.
- Habit did not develop in rats with non-contingent cues or no cues.
- Contingent cues facilitated habit formation under FI schedules.
Conclusions:
- Sustained attention may be required for goal-directed processes that prevent habit expression.
- Release from attentional burden allows for the expression of habit.
- Contingent cueing under FI schedules can enable habit formation by modulating attentional demands.
