Abstract
A portable two-response-key conditioning panel for pigeons is described. It can be attached to the subjects’ home cages and allows around-the-clock experimentation. Visual stimuli are presented with light-diode display matrices. Food rewards are dispensed directly onto the stimulus/response keys with separate solenoid dispensers. Several platforms can be simultaneously controlled by a single personal computer with programs written in a simple language adapted for on-line operation. Two experiments exploring the effects of prolonged conditioning sessions upon responding and learning demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. The apparatus is an efficient and inexpensive alternative to a conventional conditioning chamber.
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The development and research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn. The authors thank the staff of the University workshop for technical support, Ines Krug for assistance with experiments, and Ute Delius for help with manuscript preparation. While preparing the manuscript, J.D.D. enjoyed the hospitality of J. M. Findlay and the Department of Psychology, University of Durham, England. On request, the authors will supply further technical specifications and programming information.
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Xia, L., Delius, J.D. & Siemann, M. A multistimulus, portable, and programmable conditioning panel for pigeons. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 28, 49–54 (1996). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203635
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203635