Response Withholding Research Articles

Effect of septal lesions on time discrimination in cats

Cats with lesions in the dorsal part of the septal complex were trained on a discrete-trial time discrimination task in which reinforcement was not dependent upon withholding of responses. No significant differences between the operated and the control groups were found in acquisition of this task. Previous studies demonstrated that lesions of the septum in rats and cats impair performance on FI and DRL schedules. These schedules demand that the animal is able both to withhold its responses and to discriminate time. According to the notion that septal lesions produce disinhibition of adaptive responses, the difference in response requirements may account for the different effect of septal lesions in the free-operant and the present time discrimination tasks.