Evaluating the cyclic ratio schedule as an assay of feeding behaviour in the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris).

ABSTRACT: The cyclic ratio (CR) schedule is a behavioural assay developed to study feeding in rats, in which the number of operant responses required to obtain food reward (the ratio requirement) increases and then decreases in a repeating cycle. In a recent study, we used the CR schedule with European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to investigate the effects of an early-life manipulation on adult feeding behaviour. As this was the first time the CR schedule had been used with any bird species, a more in-depth evaluation is warranted. Here, we performed a fuller CR experiment with the same birds as the prior study, a year later. First, we examine the individual consistency of feeding behaviour between experimental sessions and also between CR schedules comprising different ratio requirement progressio

SUBMITTER: Dunn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6198995 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature