Prior research proposed that temporal control over the pattern of operant wheel running on a fixed interval (FI) schedule of sucrose reinforcement is a function of automatic reinforcement generated by wheel running and the experimentally arranged sucrose reinforcement. Two experiments were conducted to assess this prediction. In the first experiment, rats ran for different durations (0, 30, 60, and 180 min) prior to a session of operant wheel running on a FI 120‐s schedule. In the second experiment, the concentration of sucrose reinforcement on a FI 180‐s schedule was varied across values of 0, 5, 15, and 25%. In Experiment 1, as the duration of pre‐operant running increased, the postreinforcement pause before initiation of running lengthened while wheel revolutions in the latter part of the FI interval increased. In Experiment 2, wheel revolutions markedly increased then decreased to a plateau early in the FI interval. Neither manipulation increased temporal control of the pattern of wheel running. Instead, results indicate that operant wheel running is regulated by automatic reinforcement generated by wheel activity and an adjunctive pattern of running induced by the temporal presentation of sucrose. Furthermore, the findings question whether the sucrose contingency regulates wheel running as a reinforcing consequence.

中文翻译：

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术前跑步和蔗糖浓度对固定间隔强化计划下操作轮跑步的影响

先前的研究提出，在蔗糖强化的固定间隔 (FI) 计划上对操作轮运行模式的时间控制是由车轮运行和实验安排的蔗糖强化产生的自动强化的功能。进行了两个实验来评估这个预测。在第一个实验中，在以 FI 120 秒的时间表运行操作轮之前，大鼠跑了不同的持续时间（0、30、60 和 180 分钟）。在第二个实验中，FI 180-s 计划中蔗糖强化的浓度在 0、5、15 和 25% 的值之间变化。在实验 1 中，随着术前跑步持续时间的增加，跑步开始前的强化后停顿时间延长，而 FI 间隔后期的车轮转数增加。在实验 2 中，在 FI 间隔的早期，车轮转数显着增加然后减少到一个平台。这两种操作都没有增加对车轮运行模式的时间控制。相反，结果表明操作性轮跑是由轮活动产生的自动强化和由蔗糖的时间呈现引起的辅助跑步模式调节的。此外，研究结果质疑蔗糖意外事件是否作为强化结果调节车轮运行。结果表明，操作性轮跑受轮活动产生的自动强化和由蔗糖的时间呈现引起的辅助跑动模式的调节。此外，研究结果质疑蔗糖意外事件是否作为强化结果调节车轮运行。结果表明，操作性轮跑受轮活动产生的自动强化和由蔗糖的时间呈现引起的辅助跑动模式的调节。此外，研究结果质疑蔗糖意外事件是否作为强化结果调节车轮运行。