Item – Theses Canada

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OCLC number
57063949
Link(s) to full text
LAC copy
LAC copy
Author
Hancock, Stephanie D.,1977-
Title
Parameters influencing the acquisition and expression of a conditioned-place and conditioned-cue preference.
Degree
M.A. -- Queen's University, 2003
Publisher
Ottawa : National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, [2004]
Description
2 microfiches.
Notes
Includes bibliographical references.
Abstract
In order to investigate the mechanisms that mediate cue-reinforcer and place-reinforcer associations, these experiments examined the parameters that influence the acquisition and expression of conditioned-cue and conditioned-place preferences (CCP and CPP). Rats underwent sucrose-reinforced place conditioning in which the magnitude of reinforcement, number of trials/pairings per day, and food exposure inside or outside of the conditioning apparatus were systematically varied. Rats showed a CPP to sucrose when given unlimited access to the reinforcer and exposure to both compartments (food-paired and non-paired) within a four-hr time frame. Consumption of similar quantities of sucrose immediately prior to conditioning did not produce a CPP; suggesting that unconditioned consummatory responses to food must be experienced within the food-paired compartment for the establishment of place-reinforcer associations. To further explore the nature of place and cue conditioning, rats were trained in one context to associate a conditioned stimulus (CS; a cue light) with reinforcement (sucrose pellet) and were then tested for a CCP in a different context. Results suggest that the incentive value of a CS can transfer between contexts and does so more readily when cue presentation is both salient and dependent upon presence in the CS-paired compartment. Conditioned reinforcement effects, measured by relatively more presses on the CS-producing lever, were apparent regardless of whether or not rats expressed a CCP, confirming that lack of CCP expression does not imply lack of CCP acquisition. Manipulation of parameters can inform us of the underlying neural mechanisms involved in place-reinforcer and cue-reinforcer learning.
ISBN
0612861120
9780612861121