Behavioral modification in choice process of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis>

In visual operant conditioning ofDrosophila at the flight simulator, only motor output of flies—yaw torque—is recorded, which is involved in the conditioning process. The current study used a newly-designed data analysis method to study the torque distribution ofDrosophila. Modification of torque distribution represents the effects of operant conditioning on flies’ behavioral mode. Earlier works^[10] showed that, when facing contradictory visual cues, flies could make choices based upon the relative weightiness of different cues, and it was demonstrated that mushroom bodies might play an important role in such choice behavior. The new “torque-position map” method was used to explore the CS-US associative learning and choice behavior inDrosophila from the aspect of its behavioral mode. Finally, this work also discussed various possible neural bases involved in visual associative learning, choice processing and modification processing of the behavioral mode in the visual operant conditioning ofDrosophila.     

Worker brain development and colony organization in ants: Does division of labor influence neuroplasticity?

Brain compartment size allometries may adaptively reflect cognitive needs associated with behavioral development and ecology. Ants provide an informative system to study the relationship of neural architecture and development because worker tasks and sensory inputs may change with age. Additionally, tasks may be divided among morphologically and behaviorally differentiated worker groups (subcastes), reducing repertoire size through specialization and aligning brain structure with task‐specific cognitive requirements. We hypothesized that division of labor may decrease developmental neuroplasticity in workers due to the apparently limited behavioral flexibility associated with task specialization. To test this hypothesis, we compared macroscopic and cellular neuroanatomy in two ant sister clades with striking contrasts in worker morphological differentiation and colony‐level social organization: Oecophylla smaragdina , a socially complex species with large colonies and behaviorally distinct dimorphic workers, and Formica subsericea , a socially basic species with small colonies containing monomorphic workers. We quantified volumes of functionally distinct brain compartments in newly eclosed and mature workers and measured the effects of visual experience on synaptic complex (microglomeruli) organization in the mushroom bodies—regions of higher‐order sensory integration—to determine the extent of experience‐dependent neuroplasticity. We demonstrate that, contrary to our hypothesis, O. smaragdina workers have significant age‐related volume increases and synaptic reorganization in the mushroom bodies, whereas F. subsericea workers have reduced age‐related neuroplasticity. We also found no visual experience‐dependent synaptic reorganization in either species. Our findings thus suggest that changes in the mushroom body with age are associated with division of labor, and therefore social complexity, in ants. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1072–1085, 2017     

Positive reinforcement training to enhance the voluntary movement of group-housed chimpanzees within their enclosures

Positive reinforcement techniques were applied to train groups of chimpanzees to move voluntarily into the indoor portions of their enclosures at the request of trainers and to be briefly restricted to those areas. Subjects were 66 members of eight social groups, including 44 adults (14 males, 30 females), and 22 immatures (eight males, 14 females). Performance of individual animals was recorded during four experimental phases of the project: baseline, initial training, maintenance of reliable performance, and transfer of responsibility for training from the original trainers to others on staff. A mean of 16.1 training sessions was required to reach reliable performance, defined as the subjects' complying with 90% of the requests to move indoors. Analyses of variance indicated that chimpanzee compliance was significantly increased after training. Females required significantly fewer training sessions to reach reliable performance than did males. Adult males showed the lowest level of compliance in each experimental phase. Overall, compliance was not affected by the transfer of responsibility for the procedure from the original trainer to other staff, although there was evidence of a temporary and small decrement in performance immediately following transfer. These findings indicate that training can improve the voluntary movement of captive chimpanzees. They also demonstrate that animal training can be objectively evaluated using systematic study design, data collection, and statistical analysis of data. Zoo Biol 17:333–341, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Female affiliative preference depends on reproductive state in the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni

Hormones play a pivotal role in reproductive behavior and havebeen implicated in mediating mate choice decisions. Here weasked whether the differences in female reproductive state dependenton changes in hormone levels correspond to changes in femaleaffiliation with males. In the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapiaburtoni, males shift between reproductive (territorial; T) andnon-reproductive (non-territorial; NT) states depending on socialcontext while females alternate between gravid (egg bearing;G) and non-gravid (NG) reproductive states independent of socialconditions. Moreover, the brain-pituitary-gonadal axis controllingreproduction and reproductive hormones is substantially remodeledin both males and females depending on reproductive state. Tomeasure affiliative preference, gravid and non-gravid femaleswere given the choice of associating with T or NT males. Gravidfemales preferentially associated with T males, whereas non-gravidfemales showed no preference. To discover whether gravid femalesuse male size independent of dominance status as a cue for theirchoice, gravid females were given a choice between territorialmales of different sizes. Gravid females preferred the smallerof two T males, but the smaller T males were significantly moreactive. Our results show that associative change could be animportant behavioral mediator between hormonal cues and reproductivesuccess, and that females use a hierarchy of cues in decision-making,preferring to affiliate with T over NT males and, among T males,preferring more active animals.     

Investment in higher order central processing regions is not constrained by brain size in social insects

The extent to which size constrains the evolution of brain organization and the genesis of complex behaviour is a central, unanswered question in evolutionary neuroscience. Advanced cognition has long been linked to the expansion of specific brain compartments, such as the neocortex in vertebrates and the mushroom bodies in insects. Scaling constraints that limit the size of these brain regions in small animals may therefore be particularly significant to behavioural evolution. Recent findings from studies of paper wasps suggest miniaturization constrains the size of central sensory processing brain centres (mushroom body calyces) in favour of peripheral, sensory input centres (antennal and optic lobes). We tested the generality of this hypothesis in diverse eusocial hymenopteran species (ants, bees and wasps) exhibiting striking variation in body size and thus brain size. Combining multiple neuroanatomical datasets from these three taxa, we found no universal size constraint on brain organization within or among species. In fact, small-bodied ants with miniscule brains had mushroom body calyces proportionally as large as or larger than those of wasps and bees with brains orders of magnitude larger. Our comparative analyses suggest that brain organization in ants is shaped more by natural selection imposed by visual demands than intrinsic design limitations.     

Conditioned exercise method for use with nonhuman primates

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using appetitive methods to train adult male olive baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis), who were socially housed and fitted with indwelling catheter/ transducer systems, to exercise on an inclined, motorized, moving treadmill. All subjects were first trained to walk on a motorized treadmill for 30 min at a speed of approximately 1.6 km/hr on a 0 grade. Upon completion of initial exercise training, six animals were assigned to a low exercise group (LOW), six were assigned to a moderate exercise group (MOD), and six were assigned to a sedentary control group (SED). The LOW group exercised 30 min per day on an elevated treadmill, the MOD group exercised 60 min per day on an elevated treadmill and the SED group did not perform any treadmill exercise. The 12 animals comprising the LOW and MOD groups were exercised 4 days per week and their performance was increased over a subsequent 30-week experimental period. We gradually increased speed and grade demands over several weeks and produced an animal model capable of traveling at speeds up to 5.5 km/hr on a 22% grade and distances up to 3,353 m horizontally and 549 m vertically in a 1-hr session. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Operant conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster wild-type and learning mutants with defects in the cyclic AMP metabolism

Wild-type Drosophila melanogaster and the learning mutants dunce, amnesiac and rutabaga, were tested using a new operant conditioning paradigm for single flies. All strains are able to learn to different extents, but no evidence of memory was found in the mutants amnesiac and rutabaga, while dunce has a reduced but extended memory. The relationship between this characteristic and cAMP levels are discussed. The three mutants have previously been shown, using classical conditioning paradigms to be deficient in olfactory learning and/or memory, and show reduced visual learning. The variability of the response of the mutants in the different paradigms is discussed in relation to the generality of the Aplysia model of the cellular mechanism underlying learning. In the operant conditioning paradigm described here, 93% of the wild-type flies learned to criterion. The performance of individual flies was consistent.     

Oral testosterone self-administration in male hamsters: dose-response, voluntary exercise, and individual differences

Although testosterone was declared a controlled substance in 1990, the potential for steroid dependence is largely unexplored. The present study used food-induced drinking with oral testosterone self-administration in hamsters to determine (1) the dose-response for testosterone reward, (2) links between testosterone self-administration and voluntary exercise, and (3) factors predicting individual differences in androgen intake. Testosterone (1-4 mg/ml) was presented in aqueous solution 3 h/day for 35 days, with and without food. At 3 mg/ml, testosterone maintained fluid intake, even without food (3.0 +/- 0.2 ml/3h). At 4 mg/ml, fluid intake declined to 2.4 +/- 0.3 ml/3h in the presence of food. However, no dose-response relationship between testosterone self-administration and reward was observed. To test the interaction of testosterone and exercise, males drinking testosterone (RUN + T) or vehicle received a running wheel. Additional males self-administered testosterone without exercise. Testosterone intake correlated positively with exercise and negatively with body weight in RUN + T males. Experiment 3 determined the relationship between testosterone self-administration and mating or saccharin preference. There were no statistically significant correlations. However, testosterone self-administration increased mating behavior. These data demonstrate that testosterone is a mild reinforcer. Although preference for androgens is not predicted by mating or saccharin intake, testosterone intake is linked with voluntary exercise.     

Foundation and Practice of Neurofeedback for the Treatment of Epilepsy

This review provides an updated overview of the neurophysiological rationale, basic and clinical research literature, and current methods of practice pertaining to clinical neurofeedback. It is based on documented findings, rational theory, and the research and clinical experience of the authors. While considering general issues of physiology, learning principles, and methodology, it focuses on the treatment of epilepsy with sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) training, arguably the best established clinical application of EEG operant conditioning. The basic research literature provides ample data to support a very detailed model of the neural generation of SMR, as well as the most likely candidate mechanism underlying its efficacy in clinical treatment. Further, while more controlled clinical trials would be desirable, a respectable literature supports the clinical utility of this alternative treatment for epilepsy. However, the skilled practice of clinical neurofeedback requires a solid understanding of the neurophysiology underlying EEG oscillation, operant learning principles and mechanisms, as well as an in-depth appreciation of the ins and outs of the various hardware/software equipment options open to the practitioner. It is suggested that the best clinical practice includes the systematic mapping of quantitative multi-electrode EEG measures against a normative database before and after treatment to guide the choice of treatment strategy and document progress towards EEG normalization. We conclude that the research literature reviewed in this article justifies the assertion that neurofeedback treatment of epilepsy/seizure disorders constitutes a well-founded and viable alternative to anticonvulsant pharmacotherapy.     

EMG Biofeedback: The Effects of CRF, FR, VR, FI, and VI Schedules of Reinforcement on the Acquisition and Extinction of Increases in Forearm Muscle Tension

Biofeedback was used to increase forearm-muscle tension. Feedback was delivered under continuous reinforcement (CRF), variable interval (VI), fixed interval (FI), variable ratio (VR), and fixed ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement when college students increased their muscle tension (electromyograph, EMG) above a high threshold. There were three daily sessions of feedback, and Session 3 was immediately followed by a session without feedback (extinction). The CRF schedule resulted in the highest EMG, closely followed by the FR and VR schedules, and the lowest EMG scores were produced by the FI and VI schedules. Similarly, the CRF schedule resulted in the greatest amount of time-above-threshold and the VI and FI schedules produced the lowest time-above-threshold. The highest response rates were generated by the FR schedule, followed by the VR schedule. The CRF schedule produced relatively low response rates, comparable to the rates under the VI and FI schedules. Some of the data are consistent with the partial-reinforcement-extinction effect. The present data suggest that different schedules of feedback should be considered in muscle-strengthening contexts such as during the rehabilitation of muscles following brain damage or peripheral nervous-system injury.