The formation of an operant discrimination in a schedule-induced drinking situation

Abstract

Previous attempts to condition schedule-induced drinking (SID) to formerly neutral stimuli have involved Pavlovian-conditioning procedures. Such strategy has yielded mixed results. According to the idea that SID may reduce to the operant conditioning of the water-producing response with water as its reinforcer, the establishment of stimulus control on SID was attempted using an operant-discrimination procedure. Three food-deprived rats were exposed to mixed and multiple schedules of water-reinforcement. In 32 s reinforcement components, lever pressing produced water according to a random-interval 6 s schedule. In 64 s extinction components, lever pressing did not produce water reinforcement. Food pellets were delivered concurrently according to a random-time 60 s schedule. For all rats, the rate of lever pressing was similar in both components when the mixed schedules were in effect. When the multiple schedules were in effect response rates were higher in the waterreinforcement components than in the extinction components. These results show that SID can be subjected to an operant discrimination and support the idea that SID reduces to the known principles of operant conditioning.