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Rate dependent effects of imipramine: Effects of imipramine on operant behaviour in rats at various levels of water deprivation
Author(s) -
GUNDERSEN JAN H.,
BERNTZEN DAGFINN
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1983.tb00495.x
Subject(s) - reinforcement , differential reinforcement , psychology , operant conditioning , imipramine , privation , lever , developmental psychology , anesthesia , zoology , medicine , social psychology , neuroscience , sleep deprivation , biology , physics , alternative medicine , cognition , pathology , quantum mechanics
The behavioural effects of 1.0, 3.10 and 6.0 mg/kg imipramine injections on lever pressing of rats were studied. Lever pressing was reinforced according to a continuous reinforcement schedule at 0, 24, and 48 h of water deprivation, according to fixed ratio schedules with 22 1/2 h of water deprivation, and according to differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedules with 22 1/2 h of water deprivation. The mean rate of responding per min increased significantly at 1.0 mg/kg on the continuous reinforcement schedule at 24 h of deprivation. Otherwise, a dose‐related significant reduction in the mean response rate per min occurred on the fixed raito schedules and partly on the differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedules, thus lending support to the idea that rate dependent effects may be produced only on schedules of reinforcement such as the fixed ratio, the fixed interval and the variable interval. The results also indicate that depenent effects may be produced only at moderate levels of water deprivation. Some critical comments are made on concepts of rate dependency in view of the results and of previous finding.