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ELife Aug 2023Head-fixed behavioral experiments in rodents permit unparalleled experimental control, precise measurement of behavior, and concurrent modulation and measurement of...
Head-fixed behavioral experiments in rodents permit unparalleled experimental control, precise measurement of behavior, and concurrent modulation and measurement of neural activity. Here, we present OHRBETS (Open-Source Head-fixed Rodent Behavioral Experimental Training System; pronounced 'Orbitz'), a low-cost, open-source platform of hardware and software to flexibly pursue the neural basis of a variety of motivated behaviors. Head-fixed mice tested with OHRBETS displayed operant conditioning for caloric reward that replicates core behavioral phenotypes observed during freely moving conditions. OHRBETS also permits optogenetic intracranial self-stimulation under positive or negative operant conditioning procedures and real-time place preference behavior, like that observed in freely moving assays. In a multi-spout brief-access consumption task, mice displayed licking as a function of concentration of sucrose, quinine, and sodium chloride, with licking modulated by homeostatic or circadian influences. Finally, to highlight the functionality of OHRBETS, we measured mesolimbic dopamine signals during the multi-spout brief-access task that display strong correlations with relative solution value and magnitude of consumption. All designs, programs, and instructions are provided freely online. This customizable platform enables replicable operant and consummatory behaviors and can be incorporated with methods to perturb and record neural dynamics in vivo.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Conditioning, Operant; Reward; Behavior, Animal; Sucrose; Consummatory Behavior
PubMed: 37555578
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.86183 -
PeerJ 2023The purpose of this study is to present the development and analysis of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a new self-administered questionnaire... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
The purpose of this study is to present the development and analysis of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a new self-administered questionnaire (Dizziness Fear-Avoidance Behaviours and Beliefs Inventory (D-FABBI)) designed to measure fear-avoidance behaviors and cognitions related to dizziness disability. A mixed-method design combining a qualitative study with an observational and cross-sectional study was employed to develop (content validity) and psychometrically validate (construct validity, reliability, and convergent/discriminant validity) a new instrument. A total of 198 patients with vestibular disorders (acute vestibular syndrome (AVS), 23.2%; chronic vestibular syndrome (CVS), 35.4%; and episodic vestibular syndrome (EVS) 41.4%) were recruited. Sociodemographic characteristics, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and D-FABBI were evaluated. The final version of the D-FABBI consists of 17 items distributed across two subscales: activities of daily living fear-avoidance and movement fear-avoidance. The D-FABBI showed high internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.932; 95% CI [0.91-0.94]) and so did the subscales (Cronbach α > 0.8). The exploratory structural equation model and confirmatory factor analysis provided better fit results, with a comparative fit index and root mean square error of approximation values of 0.907 to 0.081. No floor or ceiling effects were identified. There was a positive, significant, and moderate-strong magnitude correlation with the total DHI (r = 0.62) and low-moderate with respect to the HADS depression (r = 0.35) and HADS anxiety subscales (r = 0.26). The patients with CVS had a higher D-FABBI score than those with AVS or EVS. The D-FABBI appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the fear-avoidance behaviors and cognition related to dizziness disability of patients with vestibular disorders.
Topics: Humans; Activities of Daily Living; Avoidance Learning; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dizziness; Fear; Reproducibility of Results; Vertigo; Vestibular Diseases
PubMed: 37663281
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15940 -
Teaching Tracheostomy Tube Changes: Comparison of Operant Learning Versus Traditional Demonstration.OTO Open 2023Tracheostomy tube change is a multistep skill that must be performed rapidly and precisely. Despite the critical importance of this skill, there is wide variation in...
OBJECTIVE
Tracheostomy tube change is a multistep skill that must be performed rapidly and precisely. Despite the critical importance of this skill, there is wide variation in teaching protocols.
METHODS
An innovative operant conditioning teaching methodology was employed and compared to traditional educational techniques. Medical student volunteers at a tertiary care academic institution (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) were recruited and randomly distributed into 2 groups: operant vs traditional (control). Following the educational session, each group was provided with practice time and then asked to perform 10 tracheostomy tube changes. Performance was recorded and scored by blinded raters using deidentified video recordings.
RESULTS
The operant learning group (OLG) demonstrated greater accuracy in performing a tracheostomy tube change than the traditional demonstration group. Twelve of 13 operant learners performed the skill accurately each time compared to 3 of 13 in the traditional group ( = 0.002). The median lesson time was longer for the OLG (535 seconds) than for the traditional group, (200 seconds < 0.001). The average time per tracheostomy change was not significantly different between the 2 groups (operant learners mean 7.1 seconds, traditional learners mean 7.5 seconds, = 0.427).
DISCUSSION
Although the operant conditioning methodology necessarily requires a greater time to teach, the results support this methodology over traditional learning modalities as it enhances accuracy in the acquired skill. Operant learning methodology is under consideration for other skills and education sessions in our program. Future steps include the application and adaptation of this education model to students and residents in other settings and fields.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Operant learning is effective for teaching multistep skills such as tracheostomy tube changes with decreased error rates.
PubMed: 38034062
DOI: 10.1002/oto2.93 -
BMC Psychology Aug 2023Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat...
BACKGROUND
Attachment theory proposes that attachment security facilitates personal growth. However, attachment security origins in relationship history, and thus, how people treat their experiences may influence the outcomes of attachment security. People differ in the degree in believing that human beings have free will, and belief in free will may influence the relationship between experiences and outcomes. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between attachment security, belief in free will, and personal growth initiative.
METHODS
We used the cross-sectional data of 346 Chinese college students for data analysis, including correlational analyses, regression, and moderation analyses. The nine-item Chinese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Scale, the sixteen-item Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II, and the seven-item Free Will subscale of the Chinese version of the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale were utilized.
RESULTS
Results showed attachment avoidance and belief in free will, not attachment anxiety, was associated with personal growth initiative. Belief in free will moderated the association between attachment avoidance and personal growth initiative. When the centered score of belief in free will was higher than 0.64, attachment avoidance was no longer associated with personal growth initiative. 85.84% of our data were below this Johnson-Neyman significance region, and 14.16% were above. In other words, only those who scored higher than 0.64 on free will beliefs were able to pursue personal growth despite their high attachment avoidance.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that when believing in free will, avoidantly attached people may believe in their ability to pursue personal growth and think their future has more possibilities, not influenced by other factors like social support, which they think they lack.
Topics: Humans; Anxiety; Asian People; Cross-Sectional Studies; Personal Autonomy; Object Attachment; Avoidance Learning; Human Development; Self Efficacy; Students; Universities; Social Support
PubMed: 37620912
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01289-x -
PloS One 2024Operant conditioning of neural activation has been researched for decades in humans and animals. Many theories suggest two parallel learning processes, implicit and...
Operant conditioning of neural activation has been researched for decades in humans and animals. Many theories suggest two parallel learning processes, implicit and explicit. The degree to which feedback affects these processes individually remains to be fully understood and may contribute to a large percentage of non-learners. Our goal is to determine the explicit decision-making processes in response to feedback representing an operant conditioning environment. We developed a simulated operant conditioning environment based on a feedback model of spinal reflex excitability, one of the simplest forms of neural operant conditioning. We isolated the perception of the feedback signal from self-regulation of an explicit unskilled visuomotor task, enabling us to quantitatively examine feedback strategy. Our hypothesis was that feedback type, biological variability, and reward threshold affect operant conditioning performance and operant strategy. Healthy individuals (N = 41) were instructed to play a web application game using keyboard inputs to rotate a virtual knob representative of an operant strategy. The goal was to align the knob with a hidden target. Participants were asked to "down-condition" the amplitude of the virtual feedback signal, which was achieved by placing the knob as close as possible to the hidden target. We varied feedback type (knowledge of performance, knowledge of results), biological variability (low, high), and reward threshold (easy, moderate, difficult) in a factorial design. Parameters were extracted from real operant conditioning data. Our main outcomes were the feedback signal amplitude (performance) and the mean change in dial position (operant strategy). We observed that performance was modulated by variability, while operant strategy was modulated by feedback type. These results show complex relations between fundamental feedback parameters and provide the principles for optimizing neural operant conditioning for non-responders.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Feedback; Conditioning, Operant; Learning; H-Reflex; Motivation
PubMed: 38512998
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300338 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2023Operant conditioning was shown to be a mechanism of placebo hypoalgesia; however, only verbal rewards and punishers were applied in the previous study. We aimed to...
Operant conditioning was shown to be a mechanism of placebo hypoalgesia; however, only verbal rewards and punishers were applied in the previous study. We aimed to induce placebo hypoalgesia using more clinically relevant consequences: token-based and social. Participants were divided into three experimental groups (with verbal, social, and token-based rewards and punishers); and two control groups (with and without placebo application). During operant conditioning, participants in the experimental groups received thermal stimuli of equal intensity and were rewarded for reporting lower pain and punished for reporting higher pain compared to their pretest pain levels. The control groups did not receive any consequences. Our results revealed placebo hypoalgesia was induced by operant conditioning only in the experimental groups with social and token-based reinforcement, compared to the control groups. The hypoalgesic effect found in the group that received verbal reinforcement did not differ significantly from the control group with the placebo application. Moreover, expectations about upcoming pain intensity were found to be a mediator, and the number of reinforcers received during conditioning was a predictor of placebo hypoalgesia. These findings highlight the potential benefits of incorporating token-based and social consequences for optimizing treatment outcomes in pain management.
Topics: Humans; Pain; Conditioning, Operant; Pain Management; Reward; Pain Measurement
PubMed: 37989856
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47482-1 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Jul 2023The overarching goal of a preventative medicine program is to minimize the chances of health problems developing and to maximize the chances of detecting health problems... (Review)
Review
The overarching goal of a preventative medicine program is to minimize the chances of health problems developing and to maximize the chances of detecting health problems early, in a manner that best benefits the animals and the organization. The traditional paradigms of animal welfare, stemming from the five freedoms and being progressively fleshed out to five domains, the 24/7 approach and so forth do not apply perfectly to zoological collections and less so to animals undergoing veterinary treatments. The physiology and behaviour of animals undergoing veterinary treatments, including therapeutic, quarantine and preventative medicine, are derailed from their normal states and their choices and comfort are de facto limited. A paradigm separating animal wellbeing from animal welfare is necessary to instil clarity of thought and to guide actions in regard to the welfare of animals under human care. Using such a model, preventative medicine programs emerge as a cornerstone of zoo and aquarium animal welfare, all the more if it incorporates modern veterinary and husbandry techniques, including operant conditioning.
PubMed: 37508076
DOI: 10.3390/ani13142299 -
STAR Protocols Dec 2023Perceptual measures of odor threshold provide a mechanism to compare sensitivity across species and to gauge stimulus concentrations for functional experiments. Here, we...
Perceptual measures of odor threshold provide a mechanism to compare sensitivity across species and to gauge stimulus concentrations for functional experiments. Here, we present a protocol to precisely quantify the odor detection threshold of mice. We describe the construction of a head-fixed operant conditioning behavioral rig and provide details of the training and testing procedures. This approach can be used to compare the sensitivity of mice across odorants and to quantify detection differences associated with genetic mutations or pharmacological manipulations. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Johnson et al. (2023), Jennings et al. (2022), Williams and Dewan (2020), and Dewan et al. (2018)..
Topics: Animals; Mice; Odorants; Smell; Conditioning, Operant
PubMed: 37805920
DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102635 -
Neuroscience May 2024Evidence suggests that dopamine activity provides a US-related prediction error for Pavlovian conditioning and the reinforcement signal supporting the acquisition of... (Review)
Review
Evidence suggests that dopamine activity provides a US-related prediction error for Pavlovian conditioning and the reinforcement signal supporting the acquisition of habits. However, its role in goal-directed action is less clear. There are currently few studies that have assessed dopamine release as animals acquire and perform self-paced instrumental actions. Here we briefly review the literature documenting the psychological, behavioral and neural bases of goal-directed actions in rats and mice, before turning to describe recent studies investigating the role of dopamine in instrumental learning and performance. Plasticity in dorsomedial striatum, a central node in the network supporting goal-directed action, clearly requires dopamine release, the timing of which, relative to cortical and thalamic inputs, determines the degree and form of that plasticity. Beyond this, bilateral release appears to reflect reward prediction errors as animals experience the consequences of an action. Such signals feedforward to update the value of the specific action associated with that outcome during subsequent performance, with dopamine release at the time of action reflecting the updated predicted action value. More recently, evidence has also emerged for a hemispherically lateralised signal associated with the action; dopamine release is greater in the hemisphere contralateral to the spatial target of the action. This effect emerges over the course of acquisition and appears to reflect the strength of the action-outcome association. Thus, during goal-directed action, dopamine release signals the action, the outcome and their association to shape the learning and performance processes necessary to support this form of behavioral control.
Topics: Animals; Dopamine; Goals; Corpus Striatum; Humans; Conditioning, Operant; Reward
PubMed: 38521480
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.03.020 -
Psychopharmacology Mar 2024The term "economon" (i:'ka.nə.muhn; plural: economa) is introduced here to describe an economic unit composed of two participants engaged in mutually reinforcing...
The term "economon" (i:'ka.nə.muhn; plural: economa) is introduced here to describe an economic unit composed of two participants engaged in mutually reinforcing operant behavior. Economa are basic building blocks of transactional behavior that aggregate in social networks called economies. In a drug-addiction economon, operant behavior by one participant (the "supplier") provides an addictive drug as a reinforcer to the second participant (a "Person with Substance Use Disorder; PwSUD"). Reciprocal operant behavior by the PwSUD usually provides money as a reinforcer to the supplier. After defining the features of the drug-addiction economon, this article discusses its implications for (1) prevalence and virulence of drug addiction, (2) opportunities for drug-addiction research in general, (3) the "brain-disease model of addiction" in particular, and (4) factors that mitigate harm or promote risk of drug addiction. The economon model is intended to provide a novel perspective on the uniquely human disorder of drug addiction.
Topics: Humans; Conditioning, Operant; Substance-Related Disorders; Behavior, Addictive; Brain
PubMed: 38277005
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06535-7