Berezhnoy Daniil Sergeevich, Zamorina Tatiana Aleksandrovna, Inozemtsev Anatoly Nikolaevich
Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Leninskie gory, 1s12, Russia.
Laboratory of Clinical and Experimental Neurochemistry, Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, 125367, Volokolamskoe shosse, 80, Russia.
Learn Behav. 2020 Sep;48(3):364-372. doi: 10.3758/s13420-020-00422-9.
The main features of the Shuttle Box Active Avoidance paradigm (e.g., the use of simple locomotor response as an operant and electrical current as a primary reinforcer) make this task easily automated. However, learning in this paradigm cannot be easily separated from the specificity of fear motivation. Punishment and negative reinforcement highly affect behavior in this task and complicate learning. In the present study, we describe a novel computer-controlled appetitive task in a shuttle box and compare it with active avoidance. The appetitive task was performed in the same shuttle box apparatus, additionally equipped with food dispensers in each compartment, and using a similar protocol. The reinforced reaction included the transition to the feeder in the opposite compartment in response to a stimulus. Animals mastered the appetitive task faster than the active avoidance task in the shuttle box. Other major differences between the models were the number and dynamics of intertrial responses (ITRs). Whereas in active avoidance the number of ITRs was low during learning, in the appetitive task rates were higher and they persisted throughout learning. Overall, the findings demonstrate some benefits of the appetitive task as a control condition to active avoidance: the use of a similar reaction and apparatus, no prior habituation, and fast acquisition.
穿梭箱主动回避范式的主要特点（例如，使用简单的运动反应作为操作性行为，电流作为主要强化物）使得该任务易于自动化。然而，在这种范式中的学习不能轻易地与恐惧动机的特殊性分开。惩罚和负强化对该任务中的行为有很大影响，并使学习变得复杂。在本研究中，我们描述了一种在穿梭箱中新型的计算机控制的奖赏性任务，并将其与主动回避进行比较。奖赏性任务在相同的穿梭箱装置中进行，每个隔室还额外配备了食物分配器，并使用类似的实验方案。强化反应包括响应刺激而转移到相对隔室的喂食器处。在穿梭箱中，动物掌握奖赏性任务比主动回避任务更快。模型之间的其他主要差异在于试验间隔反应（ITR）的数量和动态。在主动回避中，学习期间ITR的数量较低，而在奖赏性任务中，其发生率较高，并且在整个学习过程中持续存在。总体而言，研究结果表明奖赏性任务作为主动回避的对照条件具有一些优点：使用类似的反应和装置，无需事先习惯化，并且习得速度快。
