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Theoretical implications of quantitative properties of interval timing and probability estimation in mouse and rat
Author(s) -
Kheifets Aaron,
Freestone David,
Gallistel C.R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the experimental analysis of behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1938-3711
pISSN - 0022-5002
DOI - 10.1002/jeab.261
Subject(s) - probability estimation , interval (graph theory) , estimation , computer science , interval estimation , artificial intelligence , statistics , confidence interval , mathematics , engineering , combinatorics , systems engineering
In three experiments with mice ( Mus musculus ) and rats ( Rattus norvigicus ), we used a switch paradigm to measure quantitative properties of the interval‐timing mechanism. We found that: 1) Rodents adjusted the precision of their timed switches in response to changes in the interval between the short and long feed latencies (the temporal goalposts). 2) The variability in the timing of the switch response was reduced or unchanged in the face of large trial‐to‐trial random variability in the short and long feed latencies. 3) The adjustment in the distribution of switch latencies in response to changes in the relative frequency of short and long trials was sensitive to the asymmetry in the Kullback–Leibler divergence. The three results suggest that durations are represented with adjustable precision, that they are timed by multiple timers, and that there is a trial‐by‐trial (episodic) record of feed latencies in memory.