Elsevier

Learning and Motivation

Volume 72, November 2020, 101671
Learning and Motivation

An evaluation of resurgence in mice

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2020.101671Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Resurgence has never been studied in mice.

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    Examined resurgence of previously reinforced behavior in mice in two experiments.

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    Removing low-rate alternative reinforcement did not produce relapse in Experiment 1.

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    Removing high-rate alternative reinforcement did produce relapse in Experiment 2.

Abstract

Owing in part to the implications of resurgence for issues surrounding human health and adaptive problem solving, a substantial amount of laboratory research has been dedicated to understanding why this form of relapse occurs and what factors affect it. This research, however, has never been extended to mice, leaving unknown the specific experimental parameters that are appropriate for studying resurgence in this species. Two experiments were conducted in which mice were exposed to a three-phase resurgence preparation in a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design. In Phase 1, pressing a target lever produced food according to a variable-interval 15-s schedule. In Phase 2, target-lever pressing was extinguished, and nose poking produced reinforcement according to either a variable-interval 15-s (Experiment 1) or fixed-ratio 1 (Experiment 2) schedule. Finally, alternative reinforcement was suspended to test for resurgence. Lever pressing relapsed for one of four mice in Experiment 1, but all four mice demonstrated relapse in Experiment 2. Thus, relatively dense schedules of alternative reinforcement may be required to reliably study resurgence of previously reinforced responding in mice. These findings are instructive for researchers who are interested in studying resurgence of mice’s behavior and further demonstrate the cross-species generality of this form of relapse.

Section snippets

Experiment 1

Our previous research with rats suggests that suspending high rates of alternative reinforcement (e.g., ∼ 4 reinforcers per minute) occasions resurgence of previously reinforced behavior to a greater degree than suspending relatively low rates of alternative reinforcement (see Craig & Shahan, 2016; Craig, Browning, Nall et al., 2017; Craig, Browning, & Shahan, 2017). Thus, it is reasonable to believe that similar experimental parameters may be used to assess resurgence in mice. Thus, in

Subjects

Four experimentally naïve male C57BL/6 J mice (Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, ME; labeled Pink, Blue, Red, and Green) were used, and they were approximately 16 weeks old at the beginning of the experiment. The mice were housed in a light- and temperature-controlled colony room with a 12:12 h light/dark cycle (lights on at 7:00 AM). All mice were housed together in a clear plastic, ventilated home cage. Mice were maintained at 80 % of their free-feeding weight by the use of supplemental

Results and discussion

Rates of target-lever, inactive-lever, and alternative nose-poke responding across sessions of Experiment 1 are shown in Fig. 1. Note that the scale of the y-axis varies across mice. During Phase 1, target-lever pressing occurred at a relatively high rate for all mice, while rates of the alternative nose-poke and inactive-lever responses were near zero throughout the phase (see Fig. 1). Reinforcer rates were consistent across mice and tended to be slightly lower than programmed reinforcer rates

Experiment 2

A well-documented finding in the resurgence literature is that suspending higher rates of alternative reinforcement tends to produce more consistent resurgence than suspending lower rates of alternative reinforcement (see Bouton & Trask, 2016; Craig, Nall, Madden, & Shahan, 2016; Leitenberg et al., 1975; for review, see Shahan & Craig, 2017). For example, Craig and Shahan (2016) compared the effects of high-rate (VI 15-s) alternative reinforcement to those of low-rate (VI 60-s) alternative

Subjects

The same mice that were used in Experiment 1 served as subjects in Experiment 2. Animal care and housing were identical between experiments. Mice began Phase 1 of Experiment 2 immediately after all had finished Phase 3 of Experiment 1.

Apparatus

The same operant chambers that were used in Experiment 1 were used in Experiment 2.

Design

As in Experiment 1, a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design was used. Again, mice progressed through the phases of the experiment in a staggered manner. Staggering was

Results and discussion

Rates of target-lever, inactive-lever, and alternative nose-poke responding across sessions of Experiment 2 are shown in Fig. 2. Note that the scale of the y-axis varies across mice. For each mouse, rates of target-lever pressing demonstrated an increasing trend across sessions of Phase 1. Rates of the alternative nose-poke and inactive lever-press responses were low across sessions of Phase 1 for all mice. Reinforcer rates were consistent across mice and tended to be slightly lower than

General discussion

The purpose of the present experiments was to determine appropriate experimental parameters for the study of resurgence in mice. To this end, mice pressed target levers in Phase 1 and performed alternative nose-poke responses in Phase 2 for food reinforcement according to VI 15-s schedules in Experiment 1. These reinforcement parameters were used in our previous research to evaluate resurgence of extinguished behavior in rats (e.g., Craig & Shahan, 2016; Craig, Browning, Nall et al., 2017;

Author note

This work was funded in part by the Jean and Richard Clark Pediatric Research Endowment. Kate Derrenbacker and Arohan Rimal completed portions of the research for Experiment 1 as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Andrew R. Craig: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. William E. Sullivan: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Validation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Kate Derrenbacker: Data curation, Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Arohan Rimal: Data curation, Investigation,

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