Haloperidol does not affect motivational processes in an operant runway model of food-seeking behavior

Behav Neurosci. 1998 Jun;112(3):630-5. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.112.3.630.

Abstract

The present experiment examined the effects of dopamine receptor antagonism on subjects' motivation to seek food. Rats were trained to discriminate between 2 olfactory cues predicting either the presence (S+) or absence (S-) of food reinforcement in the goal box of a straight-arm runway. Rats learned to traverse the alley quickly when presented with the S+ and much more slowly when presented with the S-. Haloperidol pretreatment was unable to alter this pattern of behavior (i.e., rats still ran quickly when presented with the scent that predicted food availability). Thus, it seems that the same dopamine antagonist treatments that have been shown to disrupt food reinforcement do not prevent the food-seeking behavior produced by presentation of food-predictive cues.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Appetitive Behavior / drug effects
  • Appetitive Behavior / physiology*
  • Conditioning, Operant / drug effects
  • Conditioning, Operant / physiology*
  • Cues
  • Discrimination Learning / drug effects
  • Discrimination Learning / physiology
  • Dopamine Antagonists / pharmacology
  • Food
  • Haloperidol / pharmacology
  • Motivation*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Receptors, Dopamine / drug effects
  • Receptors, Dopamine / physiology*
  • Reinforcement, Psychology*
  • Reward

Substances

  • Dopamine Antagonists
  • Receptors, Dopamine
  • Haloperidol