Abstract
Do rats run and respond at a higher rate to run during the dark phase when they are typically more active? to answer this question, Long Evans rats were exposed to a response-initiated variable interval 30-s schedule of wheel-running reinforcement during light and dark cycles. Wheel-running and local lever-pressing rates increased modestly during the dark phase. a second experiment examined the potential role of food-anticipatory activity in this effect by delaying postexperimental session feeding by 6 hr No increase in wheel-running and lever-pressing rates was observed during the dark phase. This suggests that the effect of light/dark cycle on running and responding for the opportunity to run depended upon food-anticipatory activity.
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The first experiment in this report is based on an undergraduate thesis submitted by the second author in partial fulfillment of a B.A. degree at Mount Allison University, Sackville, Canada. This research was supported by Grant 0GP0170022 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to the second author.
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Belke, T.W., Mandrona, A.R., Conrad, K.M. et al. Effect of Light/Dark Cycle on Wheel Running and Responding Reinforced by the Opportunity to Run Depends on Postsession Feeding Time. Psychol Rec 58, 391–404 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395625
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395625