Internal clock and memory processes in animal timing.
Item
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Title
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Internal clock and memory processes in animal timing.
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Identifier
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AAI9325074
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identifier
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9325074
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Creator
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Cabeza de Vaca, Soledad.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Bruce L. Brown
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Experimental
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Abstract
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Temporal control of behavior under a signalled fixed-interval (FI) schedule was investigated within the framework of a three-processes internal clock model.;Six pigeons were exposed to a peak procedure, in which signalled FI 30 s trials were mixed with extended unreinforced (baseline) trials. On test sessions, the signal on some of the unreinforced trials was interrupted (break) for a period of time after trial onset. Inferences about clock operation were based on comparisons between the peak time (time of maximum rate) obtained on baseline and on break trials.;Results of previous studies have been interpreted as indicating that animals may adopt different timing strategies--stop-retain or reset--when confronted with within-trial stimulus change. According to the stop-retain prediction, breaks of the same duration should produce identical peak times independently of their location in the trial. According to the reset prediction, breaks of different durations with identical offset times should produce similar peak times.;In Experiment 1, three breaks differing in duration and/or location were used to evaluate the adequacy of this interpretation. The results indicated that each type of break produced a different magnitude of shift in peak times. The obtained shifts were longer than those predicted by the stop-retain hypothesis but shorter than those predicted by the reset hypothesis. In contrast to the stop-retain and reset models, the pattern of results suggested that both duration and location of the break influenced the shift on peak time.;These results may be understood in terms of an alternative model based on memory processes, according to which the clock stops at break onset, and time accumulated in working memory is partially lost during the break. To assess the possibility of such a decay process, Experiment 2 used three manipulations in which the duration and/or location of the breaks were systematically varied.;The parametric manipulations produced peak time shifts that were nonlinear functions of break duration, and that varied linearly with break location for a given duration. The obtained peak times were more consistent with a continuous memory decay model than with those predicted by either the stop-retain or the reset hypotheses.;Alternative interpretations to the memory decay model are considered. In addition, the present findings are discussed in relation to the implications for the internal clock model.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
