Germán Gutiérrez

Topography of sexually conditioned behavior in male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) depends on the CS-US interval

The interval between exposure to a conditioned stimulus (CS) to male quail and access to a female (the unconditioned stimulus [US]) was varied from 0.5 to 20 min using a Pavlovian delayed conditioning procedure. Increasing the CS-US interval altered the spatial distribution of sexual conditioned behavior. With a short CS-US interval (1 min), conditioning resulted in the Ss remaining close to the CS and increasing their locomotor behavior near the CS. With a long CS-US interval (20 min), the Ss approached the CS to some degree, but their locomotor behavior was increased in areas further removed from the CS. Results are interpreted within the context of a behavior systems approach to the study of learning and indicate that the typical finding of an inverse relation between conditioned responding and the CS-US interval may be an artifact of the use of a limited range of behavioral measures.

Differences in the sexual conditioned behavior of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

The conditioned responses of male and female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were compared in a Pavlovian conditioning procedure in which presentation of a brief conditioned stimulus was immediately followed by the release of a copulation partner. Male quail vigorously approached the conditioned stimulus and were much more likely to enter the compartment housing their copulation partner than were female birds (Experiment 1). In females, sexual conditioning resulted in increased squatting (Experiment 2). This response was the reflection of sexual behavior rather than more general social behavior (Experiment 3). These findings provide the first definitive evidence of sexual learning in female quail and are consistent with the interpretation that sexual conditioning increases sexual arousal or receptivity in both sexes but the increase has different behavioral manifestations in male and female quail.

Learning and male-male sexual competition in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

Male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were trained individually to discriminate between 2 sounds presented at opposite ends of an outdoor aviary. One of the sounds (the positive conditioned stimulus [CS+]) was associated with the release of a female, and the other (the negative CS [CS-]) was presented alone. Which of the 2 sounds served as the CS+ (and which served as the CS-) was counterbalanced across subjects. The subjects came to approach their CS+ but did not move away from their CS-. After having been conditioned individually, the subjects were tested in pairs, with a single female released after the presentation of a stimulus that was the CS+ for one of the males and the CS- for the other male. During most of these tests, the male for whom the prefemale stimulus was the CS+ copulated with the female before the male for whom the prefemale stimulus was the CS-. These results indicate that learning can have an important role in competition for access to a reproductive partner.

Conditioning of sexual proceptivity in female quail: measures of conditioned place preference.

The present experiments were conducted to explore the nature of conditioned sexual proceptivity in female quail. Females exposed to males subsequently approached the area where the males were previously housed (Experiment 1). This increased preference for the males area reflected an increase in female sexual proceptivity and not an increase in non-directed locomotor activity (Experiment 2). These findings provide the first evidence that female quail show conditioned responses that may be considered to be proceptive responses toward male conspecifics. The proceptive responses are expressed as tonic changes in preference for areas where males have been observed in the past rather than as specific phasic conditioned responses.

Extinction of Food-Reinforced Instrumental Behavior in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were reinforced with food for traversing a runway for either 18 or 36 trials, administered at a rate of 1 trial per day. Then, all animals received 18 extinction trials. The latency to run from the start box to the goal box was the dependent variable. Extinction was significantly slower in animals that had received 50% partial reinforcement during acquisition, whether relative to a group matched in terms of acquisition trials (36 trials, twice the number of reinforced trials) or relative to a group matched in terms of reinforcements (18 trials). The latter group was also matched in terms of the temporal distribution of acquisition trials with the partial reinforcement group, being trained only on days when the partial group was scheduled to receive a reinforced trial. Thus, there was evidence of a spaced-trial partial reinforcement extinction effect. A comparison of groups receiving large versus small reward magnitudes yielded no evidence of the spaced-trial magnitude of reinforcement extinction effect, even though the large-reward group consumed approximately 3 times more food than the small-reward group. Moreover, a comparison of groups that received 36 versus 18 acquisition trials produced no evidence of the spaced-trial overtraining extinction effect, even though acquisition latencies were significantly lower for the group that received 36 acquisition trials. These results are discussed in relation to comparative research on learning phenomena involving incentive downshift manipulations.

Psychological Research in Latin America: Current and Future Perspectives

This chapter, devoted to psychological scientific investigation in Latin America, shows the main trends in basic and applied research, the methods used, and the most important advances and limitations of research. It refers to the need to consolidate programs nationally and internationally and increase funding for research projects and institutions. The main areas of work are pointed out along with the most outstanding contributions to psychology as a science, made by psychologists from several countries, without overlooking the applications of psychology, which for developing countries are of fundamental importance.

Another way to win: Learning and intrasexual competition in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

Two experiments were designed to test whether learning affects the opportunity to obtain cloacal contact with female sexual partners during male-male contests in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The aim of Experiment 1 was to evaluate the relationship between competitive status and efficiency of access to cloacal contact. Six groups of 3 males each were observed for 40 days. Observed males established stable dominance relationships in which winner status positively correlated with copulatory efficiency. In Experiment 2, the effect of learning on cloacal contact access of the loser male was evaluated. The loser male of each group was trained during 10 consecutive days and then tested together with untrained competitors during 3 days. In the test trials, the conditioned loser male copulated with the female before the other competitors of his group. These results suggest a potential adaptive value of learning in the context of intrasexual competition for mating access. (PsycINFO Database Record

Social context modulates food hoarding in Syrian hamsters

The effect of the presence of a con-specific in the temporal organization of food hoarding was studied in two varieties of Syrian hamster ( Mesocricetus auratus ): golden and long-haired. Four male hamsters of each variety were used. Their foraging behavior was observed during four individual and four shared trials in which animals were not competing for the same food source or territory. During individual trials, long-haired hamsters consumed food items directly from the food source, transporting and hoarding only remaining pieces. During shared trials, the long-haired variety hoarded food items before consumption, and increased the duration of hoarding trips, food handling in the storage, and cache size. Golden hamsters maintained the same temporal organization of hoarding behavior (i.e., hoarding food items before consumption) throughout both individual and shared trials. However, the golden variety increased handling time at the food source and decreased the duration of hoarding trips, the latency of hoarding and storing size throughout the shared trials. In Syrian hamsters, the presence of a con-specific may signal high probability of food source depletion suggesting that social pressures over food availability might facilitate hoarding behavior. Further studies are required to evaluate cost-benefit balance of food hoarding and the role of cache pilferage in this species.