Source Paper
The Role of the Nucleus Accumbens in Instrumental Conditioning: Evidence of a Functional Dissociation between Accumbens Core and Shell
Laura H. Corbit, Janice L. Muir, Bernard W. Balleine
Journal of Neuroscience • 2001
Pavlovian Conditioning
Objective: Examine the effect of bilateral excitotoxic lesions of nucleus accumbens core or shell on instrumental conditioning, outcome devaluation, contingency degradation, Pavlovian conditioning, and Pavlovian-instrumental transfer
This is a Pavlovian Conditioning protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 7 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 2 materials. Extracted from a 2001 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • Not specified • unknown • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Food deprivation • Instrumental conditioning training • Outcome devaluation test
Primary readouts
- Rate of acquisition of lever-press response
- Overall response rates on levers
- Selective reduction in performance following outcome devaluation
- Ability to recall devalued outcomes
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Food deprivation
Rats were food deprived prior to training
Note: Deprivation maintained throughout training period
View evidence from paper
“Rats were food deprived and trained to press two levers”
Instrumental conditioning training
Rats trained to press two levers: one delivering food pellets and the other delivering sucrose solution
Note: All animals acquired the lever-press response; core-lesioned animals showed depressed rate of acquisition and overall response rates
View evidence from paper
“trained to press two levers, one delivering food pellets and the other a sucrose solution. All animals acquired the lever-press response”
Outcome devaluation test
Post-training devaluation of one of the two outcomes using a specific satiety procedure to assess selective reduction in performance
Note: Shell- and sham-lesioned rats showed selective reduction on lever delivering prefed outcome; core-lesioned rats reduced responding on both levers
View evidence from paper
“post-training devaluation of one of the two outcomes using a specific satiety procedure produced a selective reduction in performance”
Outcome recall and discrimination test
Test to assess ability to recall the devalued outcome and discriminate between the two outcomes
Note: Core-lesioned rats showed no impairment in ability to recall devalued outcome or discriminate outcomes
View evidence from paper
“tests revealed that these effects of core lesions were not caused by an impairment in their ability to recall the devalued outcome, to discriminate the two outcomes”
Instrumental action-outcome contingency encoding test
Assessment of ability to encode instrumental action-outcome contingencies
Note: Core lesions did not impair encoding of action-outcome contingencies
View evidence from paper
“core lesions did not have any marked effect on Pavlovian conditioning or on Pavlovian-instrumental transfer”
Pavlovian conditioning
Classical conditioning assessment to test ability to recall and discriminate between conditioned outcomes
Note: Core lesions did not have marked effect on Pavlovian conditioning
View evidence from paper
“the core lesions did not have any marked effect on Pavlovian conditioning”
Pavlovian-instrumental transfer test
Test to assess transfer of Pavlovian incentive processes to instrumental performance
Note: Core lesions showed no marked effect; shell-lesioned rats failed to show positive transfer despite normal instrumental and Pavlovian conditioning
View evidence from paper
“the core lesions did not have any marked effect on Pavlovian conditioning or on Pavlovian-instrumental transfer”