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RESPONSE SUPPRESSION PRODUCED BY VESTIBULAR STIMULATION IN THE RAT 1
Author(s) -
Riccio David C.,
Thach John S.
Publication year - 1968
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 - 10.1901/jeab.1968.11-479
Subject(s) - vestibular system , rotation (mathematics) , audiology , stimulation , motion sickness , reinforcement , interval (graph theory) , sensitivity (control systems) , mathematics , reliability (semiconductor) , statistics , physics , psychology , medicine , neuroscience , combinatorics , engineering , social psychology , geometry , thermodynamics , power (physics) , psychiatry , electronic engineering
Seven rats were trained to stable performance levels on either Fixed Ratio 47, Variable Ratio 47, Variable Interval 1‐min, or Fixed Interval 1‐min schedules of food reinforcement. Subjects were then tested for sensitivity to vestibular stimulation from rotation, using an ascending method of limits technique with increments in velocity of one revolution per minute every 5 min. Centrifugal forces were minimized by locating the test chamber over the axis of rotation. Response rates decreased in all subjects as a function of increasing rotation speed. In addition, characteristic differences in the patterns of response decrement were found between subjects on ratio and on interval schedules. Repeated tests indicated high intra‐subject reliability in sensitivity to rotation. Similarities of these data to “motion sickness” phenomena in other species were noted. It is suggested that this behavioral approach provides a sensitive and quantifiable technique for assessing the effects of vestibular stimulation in animals.