Impulsive choice is related to substance use disorders, obesity, and other behaviors that negatively impact human health. Reducing impulsive choice may prove beneficial in ameliorating these maladaptive behaviors. Preclinical research in rats indicates that one reliable method for producing large and lasting reductions in impulsive choice is delay-exposure (DE) training. In all six of the prior DE-training experiments, rats were given extensive experience (~ 120 training sessions) with a delayed reinforcement contingency. The present experiment evaluated if similar large and lasting reductions in impulsive choice could be achieved with less training. The duration of DE training between groups of male Wistar rats was 0 sessions (training ended after a lever-pressing acquisition criterion was met), 30, 60, or 120 sessions. Comparison groups were given the same durations of training with immediate reinforcement. A post-training assessment of impulsive choice was completed using an increasing-delay procedure. For rats assigned to the 60-session condition, impulsive choice was reassessed at a 120-day follow-up. DE training reduced impulsive choice but, contrary to expectation, reductions in impulsive choice did not increase with DE-training duration (no significant training-duration by group interaction). Importantly, 60 sessions of DE training produced reductions in impulsive choice that were comparable to prior published findings and this effect remained significant at the 120-day follow-up. Procedural elements that may be responsible for the DE-training effect, and how they could be improved in future experiments, are discussed.

冲动选择与物质使用障碍、肥胖和其他对人类健康产生负面影响的行为有关。减少冲动选择可能有助于改善这些适应不良的行为。对大鼠进行的临床前研究表明，延迟暴露 (DE) 训练是一种可大幅且持久地减少冲动选择的可靠方法。在之前的所有六个 DE 训练实验中，大鼠获得了广泛的经验（约 120 次训练课程），并具有延迟强化应急。本实验评估是否可以通过较少的训练实现类似的大而持久的冲动选择减少。雄性 Wistar 大鼠组之间 DE 训练的持续时间为 0 节（训练在满足压杆获取标准后结束）、30、60 或 120 节。对照组给予相同持续时间的训练并立即强化。使用递增延迟程序完成了对冲动选择的训练后评估。对于分配到 60 次训练条件的大鼠，在 120 天的随访中重新评估了冲动选择。DE 训练减少了冲动选择，但与预期相反，冲动选择的减少并没有随着 DE 训练持续时间而增加（小组互动没有显着的训练持续时间）。重要的是，60 次 DE 训练减少了冲动选择，这与之前发表的研究结果相当，并且这种效果在 120 天的随访中仍然显着。讨论了可能导致 DE 训练效果的程序元素，以及如何在未来的实验中改进它们。