Effects of reinforcement during the intertrial interval on temporal discrimination: Location version with rats

Abstract

Different studies on temporal control of behavior have focused on making modifications to experimental tasks by introducing disruptors to know how these manipulations modify temporal control. The aim of this study was to produce changes in temporal discrimination in a temporal bisection task by using a disruptor associated with motivation, which consisted in delivering reinforcement during the intertrial interval (RITI). Four Wistar rats and a pair of duration 2s−8s were used. There were two types of sessions: baseline generalization, where the disruptor was not applied, and RITI generalization, where the disruptive manipulation was applied. The analysis of results consisted of comparing psychophysical parameters, Signal Detection Theory indices, and latencies to start trials of baseline sessions and disruption sessions. The results showed a change in the point of subjective equality, a change in the psychophysical function, an increasing trend in the latencies to start trials on RITI disruption, and no change in the Signal Detection Theory indices. The results highlight the importance of incorporating motivational explanations to theories of temporal control in non-human organisms.