Pavlovian Cue Conditioning
Objective: To determine whether intra-accumbens amphetamine enhances the conditioned incentive salience of a Pavlovian reward cue (30-second light) associated with sucrose pellets, and whether this enhancement reflects changes in reward 'wanting' independent of 'liking' or response reinforcement
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
Equipment3
Materials3
Software1
Not specified • Not specified
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Protocol Steps
Lever press training
Rats were trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets as reinforcement
Note: Initial instrumental training phase
View evidence from paper
“Rats were first trained to press one of two levers to obtain sucrose pellets.”
Pavlovian cue conditioning
Rats were separately conditioned to associate a 30-second light cue with free sucrose pellets presented without requiring any instrumental response
Note: Conducted separately from lever training to establish pure Pavlovian association
View evidence from paper
“They were separately conditioned to associate a Pavlovian cue (30 sec light) with free sucrose pellets.”
Microinjection administration
On test days, rats received bilateral microinjection of either vehicle or amphetamine at one of four doses into the nucleus accumbens shell
Note: Bilateral injection; four dose conditions tested: 0.0, 2.0, 10.0, or 20.0 μg/0.5 μl
View evidence from paper
“On test days, the rats received bilateral microinjection of intra-accumbens vehicle or amphetamine (0.0, 2.0, 10.0, or 20.0 μg/0.5 μl)”
Test session - lever pressing without reinforcement
Following microinjection, lever pressing was tested in the absence of any reinforcement contingency while the Pavlovian light cue was freely presented at intervals throughout the session
Note: Pure conditioned incentive paradigm - no sucrose reinforcement or cue-contingent reinforcement during test
View evidence from paper
“lever pressing was tested in the absence of any reinforcement contingency, while the Pavlovian cue alone was freely presented at intervals throughout the session.”
Taste reactivity measurement
Hedonic impact of sucrose was measured using taste reactivity to assess positive hedonic reaction patterns elicited by sucrose
Note: Used to determine whether amphetamine increases sucrose 'liking' versus 'wanting'
View evidence from paper
“Using the taste reactivity measure of hedonic impact, it was shown that intra-accumbens amphetamine failed to increase positive hedonic reaction patterns elicited by sucrose”