Analyzing the magnitude effect in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats

We analyzed the magnitude effect in Spontaneously Hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats choosing between a smaller-sooner (SSF) and a larger-later food (LLF) in the initial link of a concurrent-chains procedure. The SSF was delivered immediately in one terminal link and the LLF delayed 0.01, 5, 10, 20, 40, or 80 s in the other terminal link. An ABABA design varied food amount, 1 vs. 4 and 3 vs. 8 food-pellets in conditions A and B, respectively. The SHRs made more impulsive choices than the WKYs. The hyperbolic-decay model and the Generalized Matching Law fitted the data well. Discounting rate (k) and the area under the discounting curve (AUC) for the choices made by the SHRs in conditions A, were like those in conditions B. For the choices that the individual WKYs made, k was slightly higher and AUC smaller in conditions B than in conditions A. For both strains sensitivity to the immediacy of the LLF (s) was slightly higher in conditions A than in conditions B. Thus, we found no conclusive, compelling evidence either supporting or discarding the magnitude effect in the SHRs and scarce evidence supporting an effect opposite to the magnitude effect in the WKYs.