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The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has been implicated in the acquisition of reward representations, a proposal leading to the hypothesis that it should play a role in situations involving reward loss. We report the results of an experiment in which the effects of DMS excitotoxic lesions were tested in consummatory successive negative contrast (reward devaluation), autoshaping training with partial vs. continuous reinforcement (reward uncertainty), and appetitive extinction (reward omission). Animals with DMS lesions exhibited reduced lever pressing responding, but enhanced goal entries, during partial reinforcement training in autoshaping. However, they showed normal negative contrast, acquisition under continuous reinforcement (CR), appetitive extinction, and response facilitation in early extinction trials. Open-field testing also indicated normal motor behavior. Thus, DMS lesions selectively affected the behavioral adjustment to a situation involving reward uncertainty, producing a behavioral reorganization according to which goal tracking (goal entries) became predominant at the expense of sign tracking (lever pressing). This pattern of results shows that the function of the DMS in situations involving reward loss is not general, but restricted to reward uncertainty. We suggest that a nonassociative, drive-related process induced by reward uncertainty requires normal output from DMS neurons.

Although research suggests an interplay between identity development and self-esteem, most studies focused on the role of identity commitment and measured only level of self-esteem. This study examined longitudinal associations between Berzonsky’s (2011) styles of identity exploration and two distinct features of self-esteem: level of self-esteem and contingent self-esteem. Participants were 167 college students (mean age = 19 years; 66% female) who completed questionnaires tapping into identity styles and features of self-esteem at two measurement waves separated by a 4-month interval. Both information-oriented and normative styles were found to be predicted by contingent self-esteem. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that the content of contingent self-esteem predicting both identity styles was different. A diffuse-avoidant identity style was predicted mainly by low levels of self-esteem. Although we also observed some effects of identity styles on the self-esteem variables, the self-esteem variables had overall a more consistent influence on the identity styles than the other way around.

Emotional counterconditioning resulting from pairings between a state of frustration and food reward explains transfer across situations involving reward omission. This experiment explored the hypothesis that a similar emotional counterconditioning mechanism is also involved in recovery from reward devaluation. Inbred Roman high- and low-avoidance rat strains (RHA-I and RLA-I) were trained in consummatory and instrumental successive negative contrast tasks (cSNC and iSNC) in counterbalanced order. RLA-I rats have consistently shown high levels of anxiety in a variety of situations, relative to RHA-I rats. Therefore, a stronger evidence of transfer was expected in RLA-I rats than in RHA-I rats. Whereas both strains showed the effects in the original training phase, only RLA-I rats benefitted from prior exposure to one reward devaluation task. The transfer was positive and symmetrical (i.e., exposure to one SNC task attenuated the second effect). RHA-I rats produced no evidence of transfer. The results suggest that emotional counterconditioning is involved in recovery from reward devaluation tasks. Despite extensive psychogenetic selection for low-avoidance/high-anxiety behavior, RLA-I rats showed the ability to develop resilience as a function of prior experience.

Rats exposed to a downshift from a large reward (32% sucrose) to a small reward (4% sucrose) show less consummatory behavior than unshifted rats always exposed to the small reward—an effect called consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC). Four experiments studied the effects of shifts in deprivation level between preshift and postshift sessions on the size of the cSNC effect. This manipulation is designed to test the general proposition that the cSNC effect depends not only on external factors (e.g., reward disparity), but also on the internal state of the organism either at the time it first experiences the rewards (incentive learning), at the time of reward downshift (reward need), or as a function of the transition of states from pre- to postshift sessions (state dependency). Experiments 1–2 adjusted deprivation level during a 10-day interval between the last preshift and first postshift sessions. During this interval, food deprivation was either maintained or changed (increased or reduced) relative to preshift sessions. Experiments 3–4 maintained all animals at 81–85% of their ad lib weight during the entire experiment, but they were either fed before each session (nondeprivation condition) or fed after the session (deprivation condition). This procedure avoided the 10-day interval used in previous experiments. In three of the four experiments, the size of the cSNC effect increased when animals were deprived while exposed to the large reward (32% sucrose) during preshift sessions, independently of postshift deprivation conditions. The remaining experiment yielded inconclusive results. Of the three tested hypothesis, the incentive learning view received the strongest support. According to this view, the incentive value of the large reward is partly determined by the deprivation state of the organism at the time of learning.

The present research aimed at determining the role played by the amygdala in reward devaluation using transient inactivation induced by lidocaine microinfusions into the centromedial region. Two situations involving reward devaluation were tested in rats: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) and anticipatory negative contrast (ANC). In cSNC, rats exposed to a downshift from 32% to 4% sucrose consume less 4% sucrose than rats always exposed to 4% sucrose. Extensive evidence suggests that reward devaluation in the cSNC situation is accompanied by negative emotion. In ANC, rats consume less 4% sucrose when each session is closely followed by access to 32% sucrose rather than by 4% sucrose. Evidence suggests that reward devaluation in the ANC situation does not involve negative emotions; rather, ANC appears to involve Pavlovian anticipation of the higher value solution. To test the effects of lidocaine microinfusions in a situation known to induce negative emotion, but unrelated to reward devaluation, animals were also exposed to a lighted open field. Centromedial amygdala inactivation reduced the cSNC effect and increased exploratory behavior in the open field, both effects consistent with a reduction in negative emotional state. However, no detectable effects of amygdala inactivation were observed in the ANC situation. These results suggest that, first, the function of the amygdala is not unique to reward devaluation and, second, it is concerned with tagging the devaluation experience with aversive valence.

a b s t r a c t Rats increased preference for ethanol after sessions of appetitive extinction, but not after acquisition (reinforced) sessions (Manzo et al., 2014). Drinking was not influenced by appetitive extinction in control groups with postsession access to water, rather than ethanol. Because ethanol has anxiolytic properties in tasks involving reward loss, these results were interpreted as anti-anxiety self-medication. The present experiment tested the potential for self-medication with the prescription anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide, a benzodiazepine with an addictive profile used in the treatment of anxiety disorders. To test this hypoth- esis, Wistar rats exposed to a 32-to-4% sucrose devaluation received a two-bottle, 2-h preference test immediately after consummatory training. One bottle contained 1 mg/kg of chlordiazepoxide, 2% ethanol, or water for different groups (the second bottle contained water for all groups). Three additional groups received the same postsession preference tests, but were exposed to 4% sucrose during consumma- tory training. Rats showed suppression of consummatory behavior after reward devaluation relative to unshifted controls. This effect was accompanied by a selective increase in preference for chlordiazepox- ide and ethanol. Downshifted animals with access to water or unshifted controls with access to the anxiolytics failed to exhibit postsession changes in preference. Similar results were observed in terms of absolute consumption and consumption relative to body weight. This study shows for the first time that a prescription anxiolytic supports enhanced voluntary consumption during periods of emotional distress triggered by reward loss. Such anti-anxiety self-medication provides insights into the early stages of addictive behavior. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In humans and other mammals, the unexpected loss of a resource can lead to emotional conflict. Consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) is a laboratory model of reward devaluation meant to capture that conflict. In this paradigm, animals are exposed to a sharp reduction in the sucrose concentration of a solution after several days of access. This downshift in sucrose content leads to behavioral responses such as the suppression of consumption and physiologic responses including elevation of corticosterone levels. However, response heterogeneity in cSNC has yet to be explored and may be relevant for increasing the validity of this model, as humans demonstrate clinically meaningful heterogeneity in response to resource loss. The current analysis applied latent growth mixture modeling to test for and characterize heterogeneity in recovery from cSNC among rats (N=262). Although most animals exhibited recovery of consummatory behavior after a sharp drop in consumption in the first postshift trial (Recovery class; 83%), two additional classes were identified including animals that did not change their consumption levels after downshift (No Contrast class; 6%), and animals that exhibited an initial response similar to that of the Recovery class but did not recover to preshift consumption levels (No Recovery class; 11%). These results indicate heterogeneity in recovery from reward loss among rats, which may increase the translatability of this animal model to understand diverse responses to loss among humans.

Three experiments explored the link between reward shifts and latent inhibition (LI). Using consummatory procedures, rewards were either downshifted from 32% to 4% sucrose (Experiments 1–2), or upshifted from 4% to 32% sucrose (Experiment 3). In both cases, appropriate unshifted controls were also included. LI was implemented in terms of fear conditioning involving a single tone-shock pairing after extensive tone-only preexposure. Nonpreexposed controls were also included. Experiment 1 demonstrated a typical LI effect (i.e., disruption of fear conditioning after preexposure to the tone) in animals previously exposed only to 4% sucrose. However, the LI effect was eliminated by preexposure to a 32%-to-4% sucrose devaluation. Experiment 2 replicated this effect when the LI protocol was administered immediately after the reward devaluation event. However, LI was restored when preexposure was administered after a 60- min retention interval. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that a reward upshift did not affect LI. These results point to a significant role of negative emotion related to reward devaluation in the enhancement of stimulus processing despite extensive nonreinforced preexposure experience.

The neural circuitry underlying behavior in reward loss situations is poorly understood. We considered two such situations: reward devaluation (from large to small rewards) and reward omission (from large rewards to no rewards). There is evidence that the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) plays a role in the negative emotion accompanying reward loss. However, little is known about the function of the basolateral nucleus (BLA) in reward loss. Two hypotheses of BLA function in reward loss, negative emotion and reward comparisons, were tested in an experiment involving pretraining excitotoxic BLA lesions followed by training in four tasks: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), autoshaping (AS) acquisition and extinction, anticipatory negative contrast (ANC), and open field testing (OF). Cell counts in the BLA (but not in the CeA) were significantly lower in animals with lesions vs. shams. BLA lesions eliminated cSNC and ANC, and accelerated extinction of lever pressing in AS. BLA lesions had no effect on OF testing: higher activity in the periphery than in the central area. This pattern of results provides support for the hypothesis that BLA neurons are important for reward comparison. The three affected tasks (cSNC, ANC, and AS extinction) involve reward comparisons. However, ANC does not seem to involve negative emotions and it was affected, whereas OF activity is known to involve negative emotion, but it was not affected. It is hypothesized that a circuit involving the thalamus, insular cortex, and BLA is critically involved in the mechanism comparing current and expected rewards.

Recent research has found systematic associations between identity processing styles (how individuals negotiate the process of identity formation) and value orientations (personal views about what values and goals should be pursued). This investigation evaluated the hypothesis that these relationships would at least in part be mediated by individual differences in self-regulation and self-defining commitment. Consistent with previous research, an informational identity style was positively associated with values that transcended selfish interest whereas a normative style was positively associated with values that emphasized security and tradition. A diffuse-avoidant identity style was positively associated with values that highlighted self-interest. As hypothesized, a number of the relationships were mediated by the commitments the participants held and their levels of self-regulatory resources. The more self-defining the participants considered their commitments to be, the more likely they were to endors...

The present research explored the effects of restraint stress on two situations involving incentive downshift: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) and extinction of escape behavior in the Barnes maze. First, Experiment 1 confirmed that the restraint stress procedure used in these experiments increased levels of circulating corticosterone. Second, prior exposure to restraint stress enhanced the cSNC effect whether stress was administered before the first downshift trial (Experiment 2) or before the second downshift trial (Experiment 3). In none of these experiments did restraint stress affect the consummatory behavior of unshifted controls. In Experiment 4, animals received training to escape into a target hole in the Barnes maze and were then exposed to eight extinction trials in which the escape box was absent. Restraint stress before extinction did not affect the latency to reach the target hole, but it increased the distance traveled and approach to nontarget holes. In Experiment 5, restraint stress before a post-extinction test a day later reduced spontaneous recovery in approach to the goal hole without affecting exploratory behavior. The results were interpreted in terms of the aversive summation hypothesis according to which two sources of stress (i.e., restraint and incentive downshift) can affect behavior and enhance the retrieval of aversive memory.

The present research evaluated the role of two prefrontal cortex areas, the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), on two situations involving incentive downshifts, consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) with sucrose solutions and Pavlovian autoshaping following continuous vs. partial reinforcement with food pellets. Animals received electrolytic lesions and then were tested on cSNC, autoshaping, open-field activity, and sucrose sensitivity. Lesions of the VLO reduced suppression of consummatory behavior after the incentive downshift, but only during the first downshift trial, and also eliminated the enhancement of anticipatory behavior during partial reinforcement, relative to continuous reinforcement, in autoshaping. There was no evidence of specific effects of mPFC lesions on incentive downshifts. Open-field activity was also reduced by VLO lesions, but only in the central area, whereas mPFC lesions had no observable effects on activity. Animals with mPFC lesions exhibited decreased consumption of the lowest sucrose concentration, whereas no effects were observed in animals with VLO lesions. These results suggest that the VLO may exert nonassociative (i.e., motivational, emotional) influences on behavior in situations involving incentive downshifts. No clear role on incentive downshift was revealed by mPFC lesions.

Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were reinforced with food for traversing a runway for either 18 or 36 trials, administered at a rate of 1 trial per day. Then, all animals received 18 extinction trials. The latency to run from the start box to the goal box was the dependent variable. Extinction was significantly slower in animals that had received 50% partial reinforcement during acquisition, whether relative to a group matched in terms of acquisition trials (36 trials, twice the number of reinforced trials) or relative to a group matched in terms of reinforcements (18 trials). The latter group was also matched in terms of the temporal distribution of acquisition trials with the partial reinforcement group, being trained only on days when the partial group was scheduled to receive a reinforced trial. Thus, there was evidence of a spaced-trial partial reinforcement extinction effect. A comparison of groups receiving large versus small reward magnitudes yielded no evidence of the spaced-trial magnitude of reinforcement extinction effect, even though the large-reward group consumed approximately 3 times more food than the small-reward group. Moreover, a comparison of groups that received 36 versus 18 acquisition trials produced no evidence of the spaced-trial overtraining extinction effect, even though acquisition latencies were significantly lower for the group that received 36 acquisition trials. These results are discussed in relation to comparative research on learning phenomena involving incentive downshift manipulations.

Exposing rats to an upshift from a small reward to a larger reward sometimes yields evidence of consummatory successive positive contrast (cSPC), an effect that could be a suitable animal model of positive emotion. However, cSPC is an unreliable effect. Ten experiments explored the effects of an upshift in sucrose or saccharin concentration on consummatory behavior under several conditions. There was occasional evidence of cSPC, but mostly a combination of increased consummatory behavior relative to preshift reward concentrations and a reducedbehavioral level relative to unshifted controls. Such a pattern is consistent with processes causing opposite changes on behavior. Reward upshift may induce processes that suppress behavior, such as taste neophobia (induced by an intense sucrose taste) and generalization decrement (induced by novelty in reward conditions after the upshift). An experiment tested the role of such novelty-related effects by preexposing animals to either the upshift concentration(12% sucrose) or water during three days before the start of the experiment. Sucrosepreexposed animals drank significantly more than water-preexposed animals during the upshift, but just as much as unshifted controls (i.e., no evidence of cSPC). These results suggest that cSPC may be difficult to obtain reliably because reward upshift induces opposing processes.However, they also seriously question the ontological status of cSPC. Fil: Annicchiarico, Ivan. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos Fil: Glueck, Amanda C.. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos Fil: Cuenya, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Kawasaki, Katsuyoshi. Hoshi University; Japón Fil: Conrad, Shannon E.. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos Fil: Papini, Mauricio Roberto. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos

It was hypothesized that the eight Eriksonian psychosocial stages form a single latent variable or General Factor of Psychosocial Development (GFPD) and that this latent factor is associated with the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and Life History (LH) strategy to the extent that the variables form a higher order Super-K factor. Correlational analyses and confirmatory factor analyses each supported the hypothesized GFPD. Additionally, correlational and confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesis that the three variables form a single Super-K factor. The results of Study 3 suggest that the relationship between the psychosocial stages and between the GFPD, GFP, and LH strategy remained after controlling for social desirable response biases.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which three dimensions of perceived parenting style (responsiveness, regulation, and autonomy), parental identification, and interactions between parenting and identification accounted for variation in the identity processing styles identified by Berzonsky (1989, 1990). A sample of 406 undergraduate university students provided retrospective reports about how their parents behaved when the students were 15-year-old adolescents living at home. Parental regulation uniquely predicted informational-style scores. Parental identification was positively associated with normative-style scores, but the relationship was conditional. Identification was positively associated with a normative style when parents were high responsive or when parents provided minimal support for age-appropriate autonomy and volitional freedom. Parental identification was also positively associated with diffuse-avoidant-style scores, but only when parents were low on autonomy support....

On the basis of self-determination theory it is proposed that adolescents’ motives for forming and maintaining identity-relevant commitments can be either autonomous or controlled in nature. This study examined whether motives for identity commitments would add to the prediction of late adolescents’ adjustment beyond the effect of strength of commitment per se. In addition, it was examined how late adolescents’ identity-processing styles would relate to motives for commitment and whether motives for commitment would mediate between identity styles and adjustment. In a sample of 431 late adolescents it was found that autonomous and controlled motives were, respectively, positively and negatively related to adjustment even after taking into account the role of strength of commitment. Each of the three identity styles showed a specific pattern of associations with the motives for commitment, with an information-oriented style relating to the most autonomous and internalized motivational profile. Mediation analyses showed that at least part of the associations between identity styles and adjustment are mediated by motives for commitment. Directions for future research are discussed.

The research questions addressed gender differences in the subjective appraisal of teens experiencing sexual harassment, and the psychosocial maturation of male and female teens appraising such events as threatening to their well-being. Using survey methodology, U.S. undergraduate women (n = 316; 85% White Caucasian) and men (n = 270; 85% White Caucasian) reported on their earliest formal work experiences (participants’ average age was M = 19.03, SD = 1.87). Results indicated that women, more than men, were more upset by, and were more likely to label an event as, sexual harassment. Results further demonstrated that men, particularly men who appraised harassment as bothersome and relied on behavioral coping, reported detriment to maturity outcomes of autonomy and social responsibility. Implications for a “wimpy male” hypothesis are discussed.

Posttrial administration of corticosterone was previously shown to enhance consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) in rats. The present series of experiments provides additional information that helps determine the boundaries of this effect. Posttrial corticosterone administration (1) enhances cSNC when rats experience a large downshift (32% to 4% sucrose), but not after a small downshift (8% to 4% sucrose; Experiment 1); (2) has no effect in an anticipatory negative contrast situation in which 4% sucrose precedes 32% sucrose in daily trials (Experiment 2); (3) does not support the development of a conditioned taste aversion to 4% sucrose, in the absence of an incentive downshift (Experiment 3); and (4) facilitates the extinction of consummatory behavior (Experiment 4). These results suggest that corticosterone facilitates the encoding of an egocentric aversive memory of the incentive downshift experience. Fil: Ruetti, Eliana Martha. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Justel, Nadia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Mustaca, Alba Elisabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Papini, Mauricio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina

Five experiments were designed to study spontaneous recovery (SR) in two situations involving consummatory behavior: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) and consummatory extinction (cE). SR of consummatory suppression should occur if incentive downshift induces an egocentric memory encoding information about the emotional reaction to the downshift that is counterconditioned or extinguished during exposure to the downshifted reward. SR of cSNC failed to occur after resting periods of 24, 96, or 336 h interpolated following complete (Experiment 1) and incomplete (Experiment 2) recuperation of consummatory behavior, and was not induced by the opioid-receptor antagonist naloxone (2 mg/kg), known to enhance cSNC (Experiment 3). However, SR of consummatory behavior occurred across sessions in cSNC (Experiment 3) and cE (Experiments 4–5). Furthermore, naloxone facilitated cE without affecting SR (Experiments 4–5). These results are discussed in relation to evidence for the development of an egocentric memory of the aversive downshift experience in consummatory situations.

There are stylistic differences in the manner in which late adolescents approach or manage to avoid the tasks of constructing and revising their sense of identity. This study investigated the role that family functioning and personality variables may play in explaining variation in the adoption of these identity processing styles among late adolescent college students. The findings indicated that personality, but not family functioning, variables accounted for significant unique variation in informational and diffuse-avoidant identity style scores. Although personality variables accounted for variation in normative identity style scores, family functioning variables also made a significant contribution even after the variance explained by personality was controlled. The possible roles of personality and family functioning in identity style formation are discussed.

Inbred rats from the Roman low-avoidance strain (RLA-I), but not from the Roman high-avoidance strain (RHA-I) increased preference for ethanol after being exposed to sessions of appetitive extinction (Manzo et al. Physiol Behav 2014 123:86-92). RLA-I rats have shown greater sensitivity than RHA-I rats to a variety of anxiogenic situations, including those involving reward loss. Such increased fluid preference did not occur after acquisition (reinforced) sessions or in control groups with postsession access to water, rather than ethanol. Because ethanol has anxiolytic properties in tasks involving reward loss, oral consumption after extinction sessions was interpreted as anti-anxiety or emotional self-medication (ESM). The present research was an attempt to reduce or eliminate the ESM effect in RLA-I rats by giving them 50% partial reinforcement training during the acquisition of an instrumental response, a treatment known to induce resilience to loss-induced anxiety. As expected, partially reinforced RLA-I rats showed a higher resistance to extinction in comparison to continuously reinforced animals, displaying lower ethanol consumption than continuously reinforced rats during the postsession preference test. Partial and continuous control groups receiving water during the preference tests showed no changes in preference. These results suggest that exposure to reward uncertainty typical of partial reinforcement training can reduce ESM in rats genetically selected for high levels of anxiety.

The effects of contextual shifts on the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) were studied in autoshaping with rats. Experiment 1 established that the two contexts used subsequently were easily discriminable and equally salient. In Experiment 2, independent groups of rats received acquisition training under partial reinforcement (PRF) or continuous reinforcement (CRF). Significant PREEs were observed whether extinction occurred in the same or in a different context. In Experiment 3, after PRF or CRF acquisition training, each group received extinction of the same conditioned stimulus in both the same and different contexts. PREEs were observed under both conditions, although extinction was accelerated after a contextual shift. These results were discussed in relation to the role of mediational states in the PREE.

In consummatory successive negative contrast, rats that have had experience drinking 32% sucrose solution drink significantly less 4% sucrose solution than rats that have drunk only 4% solution. This contrast effect occurs reliably when rats are housed in wire-bottom cages, but it occurs significantly less frequently when rats are housed in polycarbonate tubs. Although it is unclear what causes these differences among housing conditions, the present study underscores the impact that housing conditions outside the domain of the training environment can have on behavioral outcomes.

Early experimental accounts of learning assumed that reinforcement strengthened associative bonds whereas nonreinforcement weakened them. Strengthening-weakening models explain the adjustment of nonmammalian species to downshifts in incentive magnitude, but fail to explain a mammalian phenomenon known as successive negative contrast (SNC). In SNC, exposure to incentive downshift leads to poorer performance than that of unshifted controls. SNC forced the development of new learning models emphasizing the acquisition of expectancies and the induction of emotional responses when expectancies are violated. Comparative research suggests a distinction between allocentric learning (tracking changes in the environment) and egocentric learning (remembering the emotional response to environmental changes). Recent research shows that egocentric learning in the SNC situation is modulated by the opioid system. Similar modulation is observed in situations involving physical pain, fear, and social exclusion. An evolutionary hypothesis about the evolution of egocentric learning mechanisms suggests deep connections between the brain circuits controlling fear, frustration, and possibly grief.

Recent theory has explored the relationship between daily context and emotion. While suggesting individuals structure daily activities in search of a particular affect state, few attempts have been made to highlight the relationship between a specific activity and emotion. The current study is part of a larger project examining the daily lives of older adults in which the most common leisure pursuit was found to be television (Intrieri, Goodwin, & Papini, 1990). Present analyses explore affect while watching TV in comparison to other activities. Sixty-nine older adults (Mean age = 71.8) participated in a study of daily life utilizing Experience Sampling Methodology. Across a 7-day period, participants responded to 6 signals a day for 42 signals per person. In response to each signal, participants completed a questionnaire containing items related to activity and emotion. Analyses indicate participants exhibit less positive emotion while watching TV than when engaged in other activities (p< .001)....

Rats given access to a 32% sucrose solution later reject a 4% solution significantly more than controls that have only received the 4% solution. In Experiment 1, this consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) effect was attenuated by previous exposure to 50% partial reinforcement. Furthermore, recovery from cSNC was also facilitated by partial reinforcement. In Experiment 2, the attenuating effects of partial reinforcement on cSNC were eliminated by administration of the benzodiazepine anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide (5 mg/kg) before nonreinforced trials. In Experiment 3, the attenuating effect of partial reinforcement was greater after a shift from 32 to 6% solution, than after a shift from 32 to 2% solution. The parallels between the effects of partial reinforcement on consummatory and instrumental behavior are discussed. Fil: Pellegrini, Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina Fil: Muzio, Ruben Nestor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina Fil: Mustaca, Alba Elisabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Fundación de Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental; Argentina Fil: Papini, Mauricio Roberto. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos

Latent inhibition (LI), the retardation of Pavlovian acquisition after nonreinforced preexposure to the conditioned stimulus, is a popular paradigm for studying basic attentional and memory processes from both behavioral and neurobiological perspectives. It is argued that whether LI emerges depends on the behavioral measure used to index conditioning. An experiment with rats demonstrates that stimulus preexposure retards the development of sign-tracking responses directed at the stimulus, but not the development of goal-tracking responses directed at the site of food delivery. These results are consistent with models that explain LI in terms of a deficit in retrieval.

The reinforcement-omission effect (ROE; also called frustration effect), or greater response strength immediately after nonreinforcement (N) than reinforcement (R), has been traditionally interpreted in terms of one of two factors: transient facilitation after N induced by primary frustration or transient suppression after R induced by postconsummatory processes. Three instrumental lever-pressing experiments with rats demonstrated that the ROE can be caused by either factor in isolation, or by both acting simultaneously. The distribution of trials and the interval between N or R and the target response determine which factor would cause the ROE. Both aftereffects decay in time, but the after-N process decays at a slower rate than the after-R factor.

Three experiments with pigeons examined the mechanisms underlying the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE), or greater persistence in extinction after training with partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement. All experiments involved runway performance, food reinforcement, and one trial per day. Experiment 1 provided evidence of the PREE together with evidence that large reward increased persistence relative to small reward. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the random mixture of different reward magnitudes increased persistence. Experiment 3 provided evidence that the PREE was not eliminated by chlordiazepoxide (benzodiazepine anxiolytic) but was eliminated by nicotine (cholinergic stimulant) and haloperidol (dopaminergic antagonist). The results are discussed in relation to comparative studies of learning in situations involving surprising reward downshifts.

The surprising or unexpected omission of an appetitive reinforcer has at least two effects: An allocentric effect according to which the organism updates knowledge about the environment, and an egocentric effect that allows the organism to learn about its own emotional reaction to the change. This egocentric effect (traditionally called frustration) is correlated to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, can be modulated by treatment with anxiolytics, and is expressed in terms of behavioral changes that have an emotional component (e.g., agonistic behavior). It is hypothesized that all vertebrates share the mechanisms underlying the allocentric effect, but only mammals possess the mechanisms underlying the egocentric effect. It is further argued that frustrative mechanisms evolved in early mammals from those underlying fear conditioning.

Three experiments explored the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE; greater resistance to extinction after partial, rather than continuous, reinforcement training), in a spaced-trial situation with pigeons. Experiments 1 and 2 report conventional PREEs with 24-h intertrial intervals and between-subject designs. The corresponding outcome (food reinforcement or nonreinforcement) was delivered after satisfaction of a fixed-ratio 10 (Experiment 1) or a fixed-ratio 1 (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 reports a reversed PREE in a within-subject design with a fixed-ratio 10 requirement. Extinction occurred faster for the response paired with 50% partial reinforcement than for the response paired with continuous reinforcement. A third response paired with a small reinforcer (1 pellet/trial) in 100% of the trials extinguished faster than a response paired with a large reinforcer (15 pellets/trial). These results are discussed in the context of spaced-trial instrumental performance (key pecking and running), in pigeons.

The reinforcement-omission effect (ROE), also known as frustration effect, refers to greater response strength immediately after nonreinforcement (N) than reinforcement (R). The ROE was traditionally interpreted as transient invigoration after N induced by primary frustration. Pigeons demonstrate similar ROEs whether outcomes are surprising (partial R) or expected (discrimination training) in runway (Experiment 1) and Skinner box situations (Experiments 2-3). Variations in the interval between N and the opportunity to respond indicate that the ROE results from an aftereffect of food consumption (Experiment 4). Increasing reinforcer magnitude increased the after-R effect, without modifying the after-N function (Experiment 5). These results are reviewed in the context of comparative research on spaced-trial successive negative contrast and related phenomena that have failed to appear in experiments involving nonmammalian vertebrates.

a b s t r a c t Pain is a common word used to refer to a wide range of physical and mental states sharing hedonic aver- sive value. Three types of pain are distinguished in this article: Physical pain, an aversive state related to actual or potential injury and disease; social pain, an aversive emotion associated to social exclusion; and psychological pain, a negative emotion induced by incentive loss. This review centers on psychological pain as studied in nonhuman animals. After covering issues of terminology, the article briefly discusses the daily-life significance of psychological pain and then centers on a discussion of the results originating from two procedures involving incentive loss: successive negative contrast—the unexpected devaluation of a reward—and appetitive extinction—the unexpected omission of a reward. The evidence reviewed points to substantial commonalities, but also some differences and interactions between physical and psychological pains. This evidence is discussed in relation to behavioral, pharmacological, neurobio- logical, and genetic factors that contribute to the multidimensional experience of psychological pain.

High- and low-avoidance Roman inbred rat strains (RHA-I, RLA-I) were selected for extreme differences in two-way active avoidance. RHA-I rats also express less anxiety than RLA-I rats. This study compared male Roman rats in ethanol preference and sensation/novelty seeking. Rats were first exposed in counterbalanced order to the hole-board test (forced exposure to novelty) and the Y-maze and emergence tests (free choice between novel and familiar locations). Then, rats were tested in 24-h, two-bottle preference tests with water in one bottle and ethanol (2, 4, 6, 8, or 10% in successive days). Compared to RLA-I rats, RHA-I rats showed (1) higher frequency and time in head dipping, (2) higher activity, and (3) lower frequency of rearing and grooming in the hole-board test, and (4) remained in the novel arm longer in the Y-maze test. No strain differences were observed in the emergence test. RHA-I rats exhibited higher preference for and consumed more ethanol than RLA-I rats at all concentrations. However, both strains preferred ethanol over water for 2–4% concentrations, but water over ethanol for 6–10% concentrations. Factorial analysis with all the rats pooled identified a two-factor solution, one grouping preferred ethanol concentrations (2–4%) with head dipping and grooming in the hole board, and another factor grouping the nonpreferred ethanol concentrations (6–10%) with activity in the hole board and novel-arm time in the Y-maze test. These results show that preference for ethanol is associated with different aspects of behavior measured in sensation/novelty-seeking tests.

This review focuses on reward-schedule effects, a family of learning phenomena involving surprising devaluations in reward quality or quantity (as in incentive contrast), and reward omissions (as in appetitive extinction), as studied in three taxonomic groups of vertebrates: mammals, birds, and amphibians. The largest database of dependable data comes from research with mammals in general, and with rats in particular. These experiments show a variety of behavioral adjustments to situations involving reward downshifts. For example, rats show disruption of instrumental and consummatory behavior directed at a small reward after receiving a substantially larger reward (called successive negative contrast, SNC)—a reward-schedule effect. However, instrumental SNC does not seem to occur when animals work for sucrose solutions—a reversed reward-schedule effect. Similar modes of adjustment have been reported in analogous experiments with avian and amphibian species. A review of the evidence suggests that carry-over signals across successive trials can acquire control over behavior under massed practice, but emotional memory is required to account for reward-schedule effects observed under widely spaced practice. There is evidence for an emotional component to reward-schedule effects in mammals, but similar evidence for other vertebrates is scanty and inconsistent. Progress in the comparative analysis of reward-schedule effects will require the intense study of a set of selected species, in selected reward-downshift situations, and aiming at identifying underlying neural mechanisms.

Rats exposed to a downshift in the concentration of a sucrose solution from 32% to 4% exhibit a transient suppression of consummatory behavior relative to an unshifted control always exposed to 4% sucrose. One explanation of this effect, known as consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), explains consummatory suppression as arising from an emotional state of frustration that redirects behavior away from the source of the devalued solution. A preliminary selective breeding protocol consisting of three experiments was performed. Experiment 1 reports results from 5 generations of selected breeding for either high (H) or low (L) recovery rates from cSNC. A control line of randomly (R) mated rats was included. cSNC was reduced in H rats, but L and R rats did not differ across generations. H rats also provided no evidence of behavioral activation in acquisition or increased persistence in extinction after partial reinforcement, rather than continuous reinforcement. L and R rats, by contrast, showed both of these effects. H rats were also significantly smaller in body size than R rats, but did not differ in terms of water intake, sucrose sensitivity, open-field activity, or responding to sucrose solutions before the downshift. In Experiment 2, H infants from the sixth selected generation showed increased bandwidth in vocalizations induced by mother-infant separation relative to L and R rats. Experiment 3 showed that H rats failed to show increased response to incentive downshift after treatment with the nonselective opioid antagonist naloxone, as done by L and R rats. The results, if replicated, may provide support for the interpretation of a significant role of frustration in cSNC.

Mice exposed to a 32% sugar solution during 10 daily sessions later rejected a 4% solution significantly more than control mice always given access to the 4% solution. With 3-h access to the solutions, Group 32-4 consumed significantly less than Group 4-4 during the first postshift session; however, an increase in the consumption level in Group 4-4 from the last preshift to the postshift sessions may have inflated the size of the effect. The phenomenon was clearly demonstrated when mice received 1-h access to the solutions (Experiments 2 and 3). This effect was eliminated by he administration of diazepam (4 mg/kg) during the postshift period (Experiment 3). This is the first demonstration of successive negative contrast in a consummatory response situation with mice. The species generality of successive negative contract in consummatory and instrumental response systems is discussed.

The arousal hypothesis of the trial-spacing effect suggests that spaced-trial training increases emotional arousal and thus invigorates Pavlovian behavior, relative to massed-trial conditions. Emotional arousal was manipulated by varying reinforcer magnitude during training (either one or five food pellets/trial, across groups). In addition, autoshaping training was administered either in the morning (0900 h) or in the evening (1700 h). Rats were housed in an enclosed colony room and exposed to a regular light:dark cycle (light from 0700 to 1900 h). Available evidence indicates that reinforcer magnitude and time of day are related to arousal levels. As expected, a larger reinforcer magnitude led to a highly significant trial spacing effect. Evening training led to a higher response rate than morning training, but the trial-spacing effect was equally strong whether training was administered in the morning or in the evening. These results provide partial support for the arousal hypothesis and are discussed in the context of research on schedule-induced behavior.

The author designed 3 experiments to study pigeons' adjustment to unexpected shifts in reinforcer magnitude with a single trial per day. Extinction was faster or poorer after training with a small magnitude (1 food pellet) than after training with a large magnitude (10 or 15 pellets). A shift from IS to 1 pellet was accompanied by a gradual adjustment, with no indication of a successive negative contrast effect. Pigeons discriminated the reinforcer magnitudes but yielded no evidence of spaced-trial simultaneous negative contrast. Moreover, extinction was faster for a stimulus paired with 1 pellet than for a stimulus paired with 15 pellets. The results can be interpreted in terms of simple strengthening-weakening learning rules and without reference to anticipatory frustration. The acquisition and extinction of simple instrumental responses is affected by variables such as the magnitude and probability of reinforcement in a variety of vertebrate species. However, when training is administered on a spaced-trial basis (i.e., a single trial per day, with intertrial intervals of 24 hr or longer), the generality of some of these

Two experiments with turtles (Geoclemys reevesii) examined the overtraining extinction effect (OEE) and the overtraining reversal effect (ORE), under massed training conditions. In Experiment 1, three groups of turtles received 7, 14, or 21 sessions of training in a runway situation for food reinforcement, followed by 15 sessions of extinction. Extinction was faster, the greater the number of acquisition sessions. In Experiment 2, the two groups of turtles learned a spatial discrimination for food reinforcement either to a criterion (19 of 20 correct responses), or to that criterion plus 100 additional trials of overtraining. When the validity of the positions was reversed, learning was faster for the overtrained group than for the group trained to a criterion. This evidence of the OEE and the ORE is the first yet reported for a reptile. The results are discussed in the framework of comparative research on reward schedule effects.

Long-Evans rats downshifted from 32% to 4% sucrose solution exhibit lower consummatory behavior during downshift trials than rats exposed only to 4% sucrose. In Experiment 1, this effect, called consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), was attenuated by administration of the benzodiazepine anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 5mg/kg, ip) before the second downshift trial (Trial 12), but was not affected when CDP was administered before the first downshift trial (Trial 11). In Experiment 2, CDP administered after Trial 11 actually enhanced the cSNC effect on Trial 12. This posttrial effect of CDP was reduced by delayed administration (Experiment 3). This CDP effect was not present in the absence of incentive downshift (Experiments 4-5), or when animals were tested with the preshift incentive (Experiment 6) or after complete recovery from cSNC (Experiment 7). The posttrial CDP effect was observed after an 8-day interval between Trials 11 and 12 (Experiment 8) and when administered after Trial 12, rather than Trial 11 (Experiment 9). Experiment 10 extended the effect to Wistar rats. Because CDP is a memory interfering drug, it was hypothesized that its posttrial administration interferes with the consolidation of the memory of the downshifted incentive, thus prolonging the mismatch between expected (32% sucrose) and obtained (4% sucrose) incentives that leads to the cSNC effect.

Ethanol can be used to ameliorate negative emotion in anxiety-inducing situations. Two experiments tested whether rats would increase preference for ethanol immediately after anxiogenic sessions of appetitive extinction. It was predicted that preference for ethanol would be greater in inbred Roman low-avoidance rats (RLA-I) than in inbred Roman high-avoidance rats (RHA-I), given previous research demonstrating that the former strain exhibits greater sensitivity to incentive loss. Experiment 1 used a consummatory extinction task (22-to-0% sucrose downshift), whereas Experiment 2 used an instrumental extinction task (12-to-0 pellet downshift). In both experiments, postsession ethanol consumption was higher in RLA-I rats than in RHA-I rats. No strain differences in ethanol preference were found after acquisition sessions or in groups given postsession access to water. Because ethanol is an anti-anxiety drug, the present results suggest that rats are capable of changing their consummatory behavior to correct for an aversive emotional state induced by incentive loss.

Two experiments studied the relationship between contextual conditioning, reinforcer quality (food pellets, sugar solution), and the trial-spacing (TS) effect. In a contextual conditioning situation, Experiment 1 showed that Feeder responses (nose inserted into the feeder) were more frequent after training with pellets than with the sugar solution, but Rearing responses (standing on hind legs with front legs on the air or on a wall) were more frequent with the sugar solution than with pellets. In an autoshaping situation, Experiment 2 showed that when the solution is used as the reinforcer, a robust TS effect emerges in lever pressing as a result of very low levels of lever-pressing responses in the massed condition. When food pellets are used as the reinforcer, no evidence was found of a TS effect. The results of Experiment 2 were analyzed in relation to the levels of Feeder and Rearing responses, which were shown to be, respectively, noncompetitive and competitive in relation to lever-pressing. A hypothesis based on response competition can account for most aspects of the present results, which are also discussed in relation to models stressing the processing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and a mediating role for contextual conditioning.

Performance during the presentation of signals for reward omission was studied in a variety of training situations with rats. In Experiment 1, light and clicker were the conditioned stimuli (CSs) and sugar solution was the unconditioned stimulus (US) in a differential conditioning situation. Rats showed withdrawal from the feeder and levels of activity in nonreinforced trials higher than those in reinforced trials. In Experiment 2, groups of rats received single-alternation training with either short (22 s) or long (78 s) intertrial intervals. Rats showed more withdrawal and activity in nonreinforced trials than in reinforced trials, but both behaviors were reducted in nonreinforced trials with the long intertrial intervals. In Experiment 3, a similar increase in withdrawal (but not in activity) was observed during the presentation of a light in an explicitly unpaired situation with pellets as the US. Withdrawal was not observed in a control group exposed to the same events (CSs, USs, and contexts) in different contexts. These results suggest that signals for the omission of food can develop control over specific responses.

The anterior cinculate cortex (ACC) is known to be implicated in pain-fear and reward expectations. Animals were given electrolytic lesions of the ACC and then trained in the consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) situation. In cSNC, animals exposed to an incentive downshift from 32% to 4% sucrose exhibit less consummatory behavior than animals always exposed to 4% sucrose. The ACC lesion had no measurable effects on the consummatory performance of animals before the downshift (i.e., the lesion did not affect consumption of 32% vs. 4% sucrose); on the performance of unshifted, 4% sucrose animals; and on the first downshift trial. However, ACC animals exhibited a significant retardation of recovery from cSNC relative to downshifted shams. Within-trial analysis of consummatory behavior indicated that ACC lesions facilitated cSNC during both the initial and last 100 s of postshift trials after the first downshift experience, relative to sham controls. These results suggest that the ACC is part of the neural circuit normally involved in coping with the emotional response induced by the incentive downshift event by inducing learning of the new incentive conditions.

Previous research indicated that the suppression of consummatory behavior that follows incentive downshift in male rats is attenuated by testosterone (T) administration during training. The present experiments were designed to assess the role of pretraining T administration on two incentive contrast situations in consummatory behavior: successive negative contrast (cSNC) and anticipatory negative contrast (cANC). In cSNC (Experiment 1), a downshift from 32% to 4% sucrose leads to behavioral suppression relative to an unshifted, 4% sucrose condition (the cSNC effect). Pretraining T administration enhanced consummatory behavior directed at 4% sucrose, without affecting behavior directed at 32% sucrose. This effect obscured a reduction in the cSNC effect by the T treatment that was only detected when a proportional measure of behavior was used. In cANC (Experiment 2), groups received access to two bottles per day separated by a short midtrial interval. Consumption of 4% sucrose is suppressed when the second bottle offers 32% sucrose, relative to 4% sucrose (the cANC effect). Pretraining T did not affect the cANC effect, known to be insensitive to treatment with anxiolytics. These results suggest an anxiolytic-like effect of testosterone in adjustment to incentive downshifts. Fil: Justel, Nadia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Ruetti, Eliana Martha. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Mustaca, Alba Elisabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas; Argentina Fil: Papini, Mauricio Roberto. Texas Christian University; Estados Unidos

The present research was designed to determine whether an incentive downshift event induces an emotional memory that can be modulated by d-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist at the glycine site of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). DCS has been reported to have memory-enhancing properties in other training situations. Experiments 1 and 2 involved a consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) situation in which animals are exposed to an incentive downshift involving sucrose solutions of different concentrations. DCS administration (30 mg/kg, ip) immediately after the first 32-to-4% sucrose downshift trial (Experiment 1) retarded recovery of consummatory behavior, but immediately after the first 32-to-6% sucrose downshift trial (Experiment 2) did not affect recovery. There was no evidence that DCS affected consummatory behavior in the absence of an incentive downshift in a manner analogous to a conditioned taste aversion (Experiment 3). These results suggest that activation of NMDARs via the glycine modulatory site enhances the emotional memory triggered by exposure to an incentive downshift event.

This study examined the relationship between parental provision of attachment relations with early adolescents on parents' emotional and marital adjustment. A sample of 47 families composed of the mother, father, and early adolescent son (n = 20) or daughter (n = 27) participated in this study. Families were assessed on three separate occasions at 6-month intervals: the end of sixth grade, the first 2 months of seventh grade (involved a transition into a junior high school), and the end of seventh grade. The results revealed significant negative correlations between parents' attachment relations and measures of parents' emotional and marital adjustment. In addition, the strength of the relationship between measures of emotional and marital adjustment with attachment changed significantly across times of measurement, especially for the father The discussion emphasizes the need to consider the parental implications of attachment relations during the transitional periods that characterize early adolescence.

Acquisition in Pavlovian conditioning is usually faster the fewer the number of trials per session (TPS). Three experiments studied this TPS effect in autoshaping with rats. In Experiment 1, a group receiving 40 1-trial sessions acquired faster than a group receiving 2 20-trial sessions, and faster than an unpaired control. In Experiment 2, nonreinforced preexposure to the lever produced more lever-pressing when it involved a single TPS than when it involved 20 TPS. Additionally, subsequent acquisition was positively correlated with the amount of responding during preexposure, but only significantly so in the group trained with 20 TPS. In Experiment 3, acquisition with 1 TPS was faster with a long-delay procedure than with a trace procedure. The implications of the TPS effect for an understanding of the impact of multiple-trials training procedures on acquisition is discussed in relation to the role of habituation, sensitization, and temporal contiguity in conditioning.