Pigeons' delay discounting functions established using a concurrent‐chains procedure

Oliveira, Luís; Green, Leonard; Myerson, Joel

doi:10.1002/jeab.97

Cited by 28 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Pigeons failed to show a magnitude effect also when tested in a two-component concurrent-chains procedure, in which they could choose between a ''small amount component'', leading to a relatively brief access to food, and a ''large amount component'', leading to a 2.5 times longer access to food across different delay conditions (Grace 1999). Similar results were obtained when pigeons were tested with a novel paradigm combining a concurrent-chains procedure and an adjusting-amount procedure (Oliveira et al 2014). Also, common marmosets and cotton-top tamarins tested in a spatial discounting task (in which they chose between a smaller closer option and a larger distant option) did not show any raise in preference for the larger option when reward magnitude was increased (Stevens et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

When is it worth waiting for? Food quantity, but not food quality, affects delay tolerance in tufted capuchin monkeys

et al. 2015

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When faced with choices between smaller sooner options and larger later options (i.e. intertemporal choices), both humans and non-human animals discount future rewards. Apparently, only humans consistently show the magnitude effect, according to which larger options are discounted over time at a lower rate than smaller options. Most of the studies carried out in non-human animals led instead to negative results. Here, we tested ten tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) in a delay choice task to evaluate whether they show a magnitude effect when choosing between different quantities of the same food or when the options are represented by high- and low-preferred foods in different conditions. Whereas food quality did not play a role, we provided the first evidence of an effect of the reward amount on temporal preferences in a non-human primate species, a result with potential implications for the validity of comparative studies on the evolution of delay tolerance. In contrast with human results, but as shown in other animal species, capuchins' choice of the larger later option decreased as the amount of the smaller sooner option increased. Capuchins based their temporal preferences on the quantity of the smaller sooner option, rather than on that of the larger later option, probably because in the wild they virtually never have to choose between the above two options at the same time, but they more often encounter them consecutively. Thus, paying attention to the sooner option and deciding on the basis of its features may be an adaptive strategy rather than an irrational response.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 75%

When is it worth waiting for? Food quantity, but not food quality, affects delay tolerance in tufted capuchin monkeys

et al. 2015

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“…We concluded that LEWs are more adaptable to dynamic changes in the contingencies of reinforcement than are F344s, and that impulsivity is an advantage in dynamic reinforcing environments that might be adaptive for both human and nonhuman animals (Fawcett et al, 2012). As has recently been noted, concurrent-chains procedures have distinct advantages over the techniques typically used to study delay discounting, and they can be used without worrying that new discoveries can be accredited to the use of innovative techniques (Oliveira, Green, & Myerson, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

A long-term study of the impulsive choices of Lewis and Fischer 344 rats

2015

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Contemporary analyses of choice were implemented to analyze the acquisition and maintenance of response allocation in Lewis (LEW) and Fischer 344 (F344) rats. A concurrent-chains procedure varied the delay to the larger reinforcer (0.1, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 s). Delays were presented within sessions in ascending, descending, and random orders. Each condition lasted 105 days, and the entire data set was analyzed to obtain discounting functions for each block of 15 sessions and each food delivery across delay components. Both a hyperbolic-decay model and the generalized matching law described well the choices of LEW and F344 rats. Estimates of discounting rate and sensitivity to the immediacy of reinforcement correlated positively. The slope of the discounting function changed with presentation orders of the delays to the larger reinforcer. Extended training reduced differences between the LEW and F344 rats in discounting rates, sensitivity to the immediacy of reinforcement, and estimates of the area under the curve. We concluded that impulsive choice can change as a function of learning and is not a static property of behavior that is mainly determined by genetic and neurochemical mechanisms. Choosing impulsively may be an advantage for organisms searching for food in rapidly changing environments.

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“…Because responses at the 0-s delay determine the intercept ( A parameter) of the exponential function, this accounts for the ceiling effect observed with this parameter. One method that can circumvent this limitation is the used of a concurrent-chains procedure, which ensures subjects cannot exclusively respond for one alternative (see Aparicio et al 2015; Oliveira et al 2014 for a detailed description of the concurrent-chains procedure).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor ligands on sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude and delayed reinforcement in a delay-discounting procedure

et al. 2016

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Rationale The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been recently identified as an important mediator of impulsive choice, as assessed in delay discounting. Although discounting is independently influenced by sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude and delayed reinforcement, few studies have examined how NMDA receptor ligands differentially affect these parameters. Objectives The current study examined the effects of various NMDA receptor ligands on sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude and delayed reinforcement in a delay-discounting procedure. Methods Following behavioral training, rats received treatments of the following NMDA receptor ligands: the uncompetitive antagonists ketamine (0, 1.0, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg; i.p.), MK-801 (0, 0.003, 0.01, or 0.03 mg/kg; s.c.), and memantine (0, 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg; i.p.), the competitive antagonist CGS 19755 (0, 5.0, 10.0, or 20.0 mg/kg; s.c.), the non-competitive NR2B subunit-selective antagonist ifenprodil (0, 1.0, 3.0, or 10.0 mg/kg; i.p), and the partial agonist D-cycloserine (0, 3.25, 15.0, or 30.0 mg/kg; s.c.). Results When an exponential model was used to describe discounting, CGS 19755 (5.0 mg/kg) increased impulsive choice without altering sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude. Conversely, ketamine (10.0 mg/kg), memantine (5.0 mg/kg), and ifenprodil (10.0 mg/kg) decreased sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude without altering impulsive choice. MK-801 and D-cycloserine did not alter delay-discounting performance, although two-way ANOVA analyses indicated D-cycloserine (15.0 mg/kg) decreased impulsive choice. Conclusions The behavioral changes observed in delay discounting following administration of NMDA receptor antagonists do not always reflect an alteration in impulsive choice. These results emphasize the utility in employing quantitative methods to assess drug effects in delay discounting.

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Pigeons' delay discounting functions established using a concurrent‐chains procedure

Cited by 28 publications

References 60 publications

When is it worth waiting for? Food quantity, but not food quality, affects delay tolerance in tufted capuchin monkeys

When is it worth waiting for? Food quantity, but not food quality, affects delay tolerance in tufted capuchin monkeys

A long-term study of the impulsive choices of Lewis and Fischer 344 rats

Effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor ligands on sensitivity to reinforcer magnitude and delayed reinforcement in a delay-discounting procedure

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