The pharmacology of impulsive behaviour in rats: the effects of drugs on response choice with varying delays of reinforcement
- PMID: 8956377
- DOI: 10.1007/s002130050121
The pharmacology of impulsive behaviour in rats: the effects of drugs on response choice with varying delays of reinforcement
Abstract
Impulsive behaviour is an important component of many psychiatric syndromes. It is often expressed as aggressive or violent behaviour, but may also be non-violent. One important factor which might lead to aggression or violence is an inability to tolerate a delay of gratification, leading to frustration and aggressive outbursts. In animals and in man, tolerance to delay of gratification can be studied using delay of reinforcement (also known as self-control) procedures. Experiments with delay of reinforcement in rats show that serotonergic mechanisms may be involved in this form of impulsive behaviour, which seems to support clinical findings in this area. The present experiment examined the effects of a series of psychoactive drugs on delays of reinforcement using a steady state operant procedure involving lever-pressing by rats. Rats were trained to choose between one food pellet delivered immediately and three or five pellets delivered after varying delays which increased during the course of the session. Using this procedure the rats remained sensitive to within-and between-session variations in delay of reinforcement even after long periods of testing. It was used to demonstrate an increase in impulsivity (after d-amphetamine) and a reduction in impulsivity (after diazepam and metergoline), indicated by shifts in the choice/delay function. The other drugs tested, imipramine, citalopram, haloperidol and carbamazepine, had no consistent effects although tested at doses which are active in other procedures. This method has proved to be a useful way of examining the effects of drugs on choice of delay of reinforcement in the rat. Although the behavioural basis of tolerance to delay of reinforcement (self-control) has received considerable attention, little is yet known about the biological basis. The present data indicate that the procedure described here can be used to elucidate the pharmacological basis of this aspect of impulsive behaviour.
Similar articles
-
Preference reversals and effects of D-amphetamine on delay discounting in rats.Behav Pharmacol. 2012 Jun;23(3):228-40. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0b013e32835342ed. Behav Pharmacol. 2012. PMID: 22543814
-
[Pharmacological treatment of impulsivity and aggressive behavior].Braz J Psychiatry. 2009 Oct;31 Suppl 2:S58-65. doi: 10.1590/s1516-44462009000600004. Braz J Psychiatry. 2009. PMID: 19967201 Review. Portuguese.
-
The pharmacology of impulsive behaviour in rats VI: the effects of ethanol and selective serotonergic drugs on response choice with varying delays of reinforcement.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Oct;146(4):413-21. doi: 10.1007/pl00005486. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999. PMID: 10550491
-
Impulsivity: a discussion of clinical and experimental findings.J Psychopharmacol. 1999;13(2):180-92. doi: 10.1177/026988119901300211. J Psychopharmacol. 1999. PMID: 10475725 Review.
-
The pharmacology of impulsive behaviour in rats II: the effects of amphetamine, haloperidol, imipramine, chlordiazepoxide and other drugs on fixed consecutive number schedules (FCN 8 and FCN 32).Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1998 Aug;138(3-4):283-94. doi: 10.1007/s002130050673. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1998. PMID: 9725750
Cited by
-
Effects of reproductive experience on cost-benefit decision making in female rats.Front Behav Neurosci. 2024 Jan 29;18:1304408. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1304408. eCollection 2024. Front Behav Neurosci. 2024. PMID: 38352625 Free PMC article.
-
Dopamine D2 receptors in nucleus accumbens cholinergic interneurons increase impulsive choice.Neuropsychopharmacology. 2023 Aug;48(9):1309-1317. doi: 10.1038/s41386-023-01608-1. Epub 2023 May 23. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2023. PMID: 37221325
-
Behavioral mechanisms of oxycodone's effects in female and male rats: Reinforcement delay and impulsive choice.Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2023 Dec;31(6):1050-1068. doi: 10.1037/pha0000646. Epub 2023 May 18. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2023. PMID: 37199913
-
Divergent risky decision-making and impulsivity behaviors in Lewis rat substrains with low genetic difference.Behav Neurosci. 2023 Aug;137(4):254-267. doi: 10.1037/bne0000557. Epub 2023 Apr 27. Behav Neurosci. 2023. PMID: 37104777
-
Mechanisms of impulsive choice: Experiments to explore and models to map the empirical terrain.Learn Behav. 2023 Dec;51(4):355-391. doi: 10.3758/s13420-023-00577-1. Epub 2023 Mar 13. Learn Behav. 2023. PMID: 36913144 Free PMC article. Review.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources