Matell M S, Meck W H
Department of Psychology: Experimental, Duke University, Box 90086 Durham, NC 27708-0086, USA.
Behav Processes. 1999 Apr;45(1-3):159-71. doi: 10.1016/s0376-6357(99)00016-9.
Rats were trained on a modified peak-interval timing procedure in which three response levers were individually associated with different criterion durations (10, 30 and 90 s) following the onset of a tone stimulus. Delivery of response-dependent reinforcement for each duration was independent of both the responding and the delivery of reinforcement for the other durations, such that the tone stimulus stayed on during food delivery, and no change in the primed reinforcement times occurred. We report here that the delivery of reinforcement at an earlier criterion duration produces a rightward shift in the temporal response functions for later durations by the amount of time that has already elapsed in the trial. This reset in temporal accumulation produces large discrepancies between the programmed and expected (peak) times of reinforcement and suggests that rats are unable to make conditional reinforcement-based discriminations of interval duration.
大鼠接受了一种改良的峰值间隔计时程序训练，在此程序中，三个反应杠杆分别与音调刺激开始后的不同标准持续时间（10、30和90秒）相关联。每个持续时间的反应依赖性强化物的给予与其他持续时间的反应和强化物的给予均无关，这样在食物递送期间音调刺激持续存在，并且启动的强化时间没有变化。我们在此报告，在较早的标准持续时间给予强化物会使后续持续时间的时间反应函数向右移动试验中已经过去的时间量。这种时间累积的重置会在编程的和预期（峰值）强化时间之间产生很大差异，并表明大鼠无法基于条件强化对间隔持续时间进行辨别。
