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Operant conditioning of feeding behavior in Aplysia using self-stimulation

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CONTRIBUTORS:
  Author Brembs, Björn (Freie Universität Berlin)
  Author Wilkinson, Elizabeth
  Author Reyes, Fredy
  Author Baxter, Douglas
  Author Byrne, John
CONFERENCE NAME:
  Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
CONF. LOCATION: Washington DC
CONFERENCE YEAR: 2001
PUB TYPE: Conference Presentation
SUBJECT(S): eurobiology, neuroscience, neurophysiology, operant conditioning
DISCIPLINE: Biology
HTTP: http://bjoern.brembs.net/download.php?view.21
LANGUAGE: English
PUB ID: 103-425-990 (Last edited on 2006/04/13 05:27:27 GMT-6)
SPONSOR(S):
 
ABSTRACT:
In contrast to classical conditioning, the cellular mechanisms underlying operant conditioning are still poorly understood. This deficit results, in part, from the lack of a suitably tractable preparation that exhibits operant conditioning and that is amenable to cellular analysis. To address this issue, the feeding behavior of Aplysia was subjected to an in vivo operant conditioning procedure. In pilot studies, we performed in vivo recordings from the anterior branch of the oesophageal nerve (EN2) in feeding Aplysia. These studies revealed presumably afferent activity (30Hz/3s) that coincided with biting and swallowing. In a novel operant conditioning paradigm, we have substituted food reinforcement with extracellular stimulation(30Hz/3s) of EN2 via surgically implanted electrodes. Three groups of animals were examined. In one group (Contingent Reinforcement),the reinforcing stimulus was delivered each time the animal executed a bite during training. In a second group (Yoke Control), animals received the same pattern of stimulation as the animals in the Contingent Reinforcement group, but independent oft heir behavior. In the third group (Control), the animals did not receive any EN2 stimulation. The conditioning was evaluated by counting the number of bites during a 5 min test period. The test period either immediately followed the training or was 24 hr later. At both time points, only contingent reinforcement led to a significantly higher rate of biting. These results show that contingent in vivo stimulation of the anterior branch of the oesophageal nerve in Aplysia is sufficient to induce an operant memory that persists for at least 24 hrs.
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