Design and evaluation of a touchscreen apparatus for operant research with pigeons.

ABSTRACT: We developed a touchscreen apparatus for pigeons and conducted a series of experiments that assessed its utility for free-operant procedures. The apparatus incorporated an on-board Windows computer, an electromechanical interface, an amplified speaker, and the touchscreen. We found that merely projecting a virtual key on the screen was insufficient; too many pecks missed the key. Adding a visual target in the center of the key and providing visual feedback for on-key pecks both failed to improve response accuracy. Accuracy was improved by imposing a timeout after off-key pecks or providing a physical boundary around the key. With the physical boundary, response accuracy was comparable to that obtained with conventional plastic keys, and response acquisition via autoshaping also was compara

SUBMITTER: Toegel F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8882370 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature