Chapter 4 - Schedule-controlled behavior: positive reinforcement

Abstract

This chapter discusses the methodology used to study the effects of drug administration on behavior maintained by schedules of positive reinforcement. There are several important advantages associated with the use of schedules of positive reinforcement to study the behavioral effects of drug administration. These experiments in behavioral pharmacology are conducted within the venerable tradition of the experimental analysis of behavior. This behavioral history insures that the experiments take place in settings which allow for rigorous experimental control to minimize the influence of variables other than those associated with the schedule of reinforcement and the method of drug administration. In addition, prolonged exposure to a schedule of reinforcement results in predictable, reproducible, and reversible patterns of behavior in individual subjects. Although different schedules of reinforcement generate different rates and patterns of behavior, these characteristics vary little among species. This feature of the experimental preparation allows for a comparison of the effects of behaviorally active drugs across species.