van Haaren F, van Hest A
Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam.
Behav Brain Res. 1990 Mar 26;37(3):255-61. doi: 10.1016/0166-4328(90)90137-4.
The present experiment was designed to investigate whether or not response rate differences between male and female Wistar rats observed in many different experimental procedures could be attributed to sex differences in behavioral perseverance, as has been suggested by the results of previous experiments. Male and female Wistar rats were thus exposed to different fixed-consecutive-number schedules of reinforcement. Fixed-consecutive-number schedules require subjects to emit a specified number of responses on one (work) lever, before a response on another (food) lever results in the presentation of reinforcement. The response requirement on the work lever was manipulated in different experimental conditions. Subjects had to emit between 3 and 7, 8 and 12 or 13 and 17 responses on the work lever before a response on the food lever produced reinforcement. When subjects emitted fewer or more than the required number of responses on the work lever, a 5-s time-out period was presented. Males responded at higher rates than females during all experimental conditions; response rates of males and females increased as the response requirement on the work lever was increased. Sex differences in response efficiency were not observed, but males seemed to reach final response efficiency faster than females. Response efficiency decreased as the response requirement on the work lever was increased. Error analysis showed that both males and females made more errors by not producing enough responses on the work lever than by producing too many. However, males were more likely than females to emit more responses than the requirement on the work lever, while females were more likely than males not to produce enough responses on the work lever.
本实验旨在研究在许多不同实验程序中观察到的雄性和雌性Wistar大鼠之间的反应率差异是否可归因于行为毅力的性别差异，正如先前实验结果所表明的那样。因此，将雄性和雌性Wistar大鼠暴露于不同的固定连续数强化程序中。固定连续数程序要求受试者在一个（工作）杠杆上发出指定数量的反应，然后在另一个（食物）杠杆上的反应才会导致强化物的呈现。在不同的实验条件下，对工作杠杆上的反应要求进行了操纵。在食物杠杆上的反应产生强化之前，受试者必须在工作杠杆上发出3至7次、8至12次或13至17次反应。当受试者在工作杠杆上发出的反应少于或多于所需数量时，会出现5秒的超时时间段。在所有实验条件下，雄性的反应率都高于雌性；随着工作杠杆上反应要求的增加，雄性和雌性的反应率都有所提高。未观察到反应效率的性别差异，但雄性似乎比雌性更快达到最终反应效率。随着工作杠杆上反应要求的增加，反应效率下降。错误分析表明，雄性和雌性在工作杠杆上因反应不足而产生的错误都比反应过多时更多。然而，雄性比雌性更有可能在工作杠杆上发出比要求更多的反应，而雌性比雄性更有可能在工作杠杆上反应不足。
