Reinforcement of Inhibition

Abstract

A differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedule with trials and delayed reinforcement was investigated. Periodically a wheel was briefly available to rats, followed six seconds later by brief availability of a bar. Variable-ratio food reinforcement of wheel turns was adjusted to give 95% turns. After variable-ratio-five reinforcement of bar presses produced 100% pressing, then separate ratio schedules were used for presses following turns (turn presses) and presses following nonturns (nonturn presses). Increasing nonturn-press reinforcements decreased turns, even though total reinforcements increased. Reversal by decreasing nonturn-press reinforcements raised turns, though with hysteresis. Thus food reinforcement increased nonturns even though delayed six to ten seconds after nonturns, a delay that greatly reduces response reinforcement. Those and other results indicate that the turn decrease was not due to reinforcement of competing responses. Evidence against other alternatives, and the reduction of responding by increased reinforcement, indicate that the term inhibition is appropriate for the phenomenon reinforced. Response-specific inhibition appears appropriate for this particular kind, since its effects are more specific to particular responses than Pavlovian conditioned-inhibition. Response-specific inhibition seems best considered a behavioral output comparable to responses (e.g., both reinforcible) but with important properties different from responses (e.g., different reinforcement-delay gradients).

Context extinction following conditioning with delayed reward enhances subsequent instrumental responding.

“…It is difficult to directly test notions based on competing responses, primarily because of the problem of specifying exactly what behavior is competing with lever pressing (see Anger, 1983). Following Dickinson and Charnock (1985), an attempt was made to determine if competing behaviors interfered with lever pressing.…”

The balance equation: Part 2. Derivation of the balance equation for response-specific inhibition

“…However, if one grants that animals can adjust their responding appropriately to complex contingencies, then it follows that animals must be influenced by P'ir' also, and the balance equation provides an explanation for how the adjustment to contingency is produced by a single variable averaging and combining the effects of the four sequences. Then the concept of RSI, for which there is independent evidence (Anger, 1983), fits nicely as the variable that does the averaging and combining .…”

Rats’ auditory working memory tested by continuous non-matching-to-sample performance

“…Therefore, go was very apt to occur and was very consistent throughout the session. On the other hand, no-go is adeviation from that basic tendency to respond, which may be why correct no-go was relatively unstable and easily changed along variation of the delay period' This type of no-go response, which has no reinforcement contingency, is not an active operant response (Anger, 1983). The mechanism underlying the releasing of a reinforcement-contingent nogo response may be different from that underlying a nonreinforcement-contingent no-go response.…”