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CONTRIBUTORS:
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CONFERENCE NAME:
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CONF. LOCATION:
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None
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CONFERENCE YEAR:
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2001
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PUB TYPE:
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Conference Presentation
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SUBJECT(S):
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Neurobiology, neuroscience, neurophysiology, operant conditioning
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DISCIPLINE:
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Biology
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HTTP:
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LANGUAGE:
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English
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PUB ID:
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103-425-991
(Last edited on
2006/04/13 06:02:52 GMT-6)
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SPONSOR(S):
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ABSTRACT:
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 behaviour of the marine mollusc Aplysia was subjected to an in vivo operant conditioning procedure. In Aplysia, sensory receptors in the buccal cavity transmit food stimuli to the buccal ganglion via the oesophageal nerve. In pilot studies, we have performed in vivo recordings from the anterior branch of the oesophageal nerve 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 the anterior branch of the oesophageal nerve 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 of their behaviour. In the third group (Control), the animals did not receive any nerve 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 lasts for at least 24 hours.
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