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Punishment Procedures

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Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology

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Synonyms

Conditioned emotional response; Experimental conflict; Punished behavior; Punishment; Suppressed behavior

Definition

Punishment is defined as the suppression of behavior that results from the response-dependent delivery of a stimulus (punisher). Punishment procedures in rodents and other species have been used for nearly 50 years to detect effects of classical antianxiety agents (e.g., benzodiazepine receptor agonists such as diazepam) as well as other mechanisms that are or might prove to be anxiolytic in humans. Classical anxiolytic agents including ethanol increase behavior suppressed by punishment. The punishment procedures include passive avoidance, conflict tests, and other related methods. The conflict tests have been most widely used and include the Geller-Seifter and Vogel conflict tests of which a host of variants exist. In the Geller-Seifter test, stable baselines of responding are maintained in the presence of one stimulus and suppressed by punishment in the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lilly Res Labs, Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis, IN, 46285-0510, USA

    Jeffrey M. Witkin

  2. Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N. 15th Street (Mail Stop 488), Philadelphia, PA, 19102-1192, USA

    James E. Barrett

Authors
  1. Jeffrey M. Witkin
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  2. James E. Barrett
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeffrey M. Witkin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Behavioural Pharmacology, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry P049, London, United Kingdom

    Ian P. Stolerman

  2. Brown Medical School, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Lawrence H. Price

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Witkin, J.M., Barrett, J.E. (2014). Punishment Procedures. In: Stolerman, I., Price, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_283-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_283-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27772-6

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