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A Critique of the Methods Available for the Measurement of Spontaneous Motor Activity

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Handbook of Psychopharmacology

Abstract

Any assessment of the behavioral effect of a psychotropic agent must include information as to its effect on spontaneous motor activity. In its broadest sense, motor activity refers to the whole repertoire of unconditioned behavior; in its narrowest sense, it refers to whole-body locomotor activity, such as running or walking. It has long been an aim of behavioral pharmacologists and others to obtain an objective measure of locomotor activity. Apart from the obvious value of such measurement in the screening of new “stimulant” or “depressant” compounds, it is evident that changes in locomotor activity have consequences for the measurement of all aspects of behavior, including conditioned behavior.

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  1. Psychological Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England

    T. W. Robbins

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  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, USA

    Leslie L. Iversen

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, USA

    Susan D. Iversen

  3. Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA

    Solomon H. Snyder

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Robbins, T.W. (1977). A Critique of the Methods Available for the Measurement of Spontaneous Motor Activity. In: Iversen, L.L., Iversen, S.D., Snyder, S.H. (eds) Handbook of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4214-4_2

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