Effects of acute and chronic cocaine administration on titrating-delay matching-to-sample performance.
Cocaine knocks pigeon matching accuracy down at first, but daily exposure builds tolerance and performance climbs back.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave pigeons cocaine before daily matching-to-sample tests. The birds pecked a center key, then chose between two side keys after a delay that adjusted up or down based on accuracy. They tested single doses first, then gave the same dose every day over the study period.
The titrating-delay procedure automatically finds each bird's accuracy threshold. Better performance earns longer delays. Worse scores shorten them. This lets scientists measure how drugs affect stimulus control in real time.
What they found
One shot of cocaine immediately hurt accuracy. Delays dropped from about 6 seconds to 2 seconds. The birds acted as if the drug scrambled their memory for the sample.
After 30 daily doses, the damage faded. Delays crept back toward 6 seconds. The pigeons developed tolerance; cocaine no longer disrupted their matching.
How this fits with other research
Hus et al. (2013) extends this picture. They also dosed pigeons daily with cocaine, but used a dose that never changed response rate. Even without early disruption, the birds still became tolerant. Together, the two studies show tolerance can arise whether the first hits are obvious or silent.
Furrebøe (2020) used the same titrating-delay method with humans choosing between money now or later. The tool travels across species and questions, from drug effects to discounting.
Heslop et al. (2007) mapped starlings' size-discrimination thresholds with similar operant rigs. Both papers chase the sharp edge where stimulus control breaks down, whether from cocaine or tiny size gaps.
Why it matters
If you run matching-to-sample programs with clients on stimulant meds, watch for acute dips in accuracy after dose changes. The pigeon data says tolerance may develop, but early sessions could still suffer. Track error rates daily and wait two to three weeks before tweaking protocols. The titrating-delay setup also offers a quick lab model for testing how new compounds or sleep loss might affect your learners' stimulus control.
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Graph your client's matching accuracy for two weeks after any stimulant change; look for a rebound curve like the pigeons'.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The effects of cocaine were examined under a titrating-delay matching-to-sample procedure. In this procedure, the delay between sample stimulus offset and comparison stimuli onset adjusts as a function of the subject's performance. Specifically, matches increase the delay and mismatches decrease the delay. Titrated delay values served as the primary dependent measure. After establishing stable performance in pigeons, several behaviorally-effective doses of cocaine were administered acutely. Dose-related within-session decreases in titrated delay values were observed. Following acute determinations, the dose of cocaine that produced the most rapid decline without eliminating performance was administered prior to each daily session. Chronic administration resulted in performance trending toward control levels. A redetermination of the dose-response function following chronic exposure revealed reduced potency (i.e., tolerance) under cocaine on titrated delay matching-to-sample performance. Supplemental analyses suggest that cocaine may serve as a disruptor of the stimulus conditions in which the performance was established.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 2012 · doi:10.1901/jeab.2012.97-151