Schedule-induced wood-chewing in rats and its dependence on body weight |
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Authors: | T J Roper G Crossland |
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Institution: | 1. School of Biology, University of Sussex, BN1 9QG, Brighton, Sussex, England
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Abstract: | In Experiment 1, 12 rats were exposed to an FT 60 schedule of food reinforcement, followed either by extinction or by a massed-food control condition, in the presence of a wood block. In 9 rats, wood-chewing behavior increased systematically during the FT 60 condition and declined again during extinction or massed food, while the other 3 rats showed virtually no chewing behavior at any stage of the experiment. In Experiment 2, frequency and bout duration of wood-chewing under an FT 60 schedule of food reinforcement declined as body weight increased, in 7 rats. We conclude that wood-chewing qualifies as a schedule-induced behavior, and that it resembles schedule-induced drinking in its dependence on body weight. Unlike drinking, however, induced chewing occupied the middle region of the 60-sec interreinforcement interval, declined markedly within the session, and showed considerable within- and between-subject variability. |
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