D-061 | Studying factors and mechanisms underlying frustration recovery between Successive Negative Contrast tasks

Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Mariano Nicolás Rodríguez | Email: rodriguezmariano@hotmail.com.ar

Mariano Rodríguez^1°2°, Franco Cardozo Denis^1°2°, Martín Puddington^1°2°3°,  Rubén Muzio^1°2°

^1° Grupo de Aprendizaje y Cognición Comparada, Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento (IBYME-CONICET)
^2° Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología (UBA)
^3° Universidad de Tres de Febrero (UNTreF)

Successive Negative Contrast (SNC) is a behavioral phenomenon characterized by the disruption of instrumental (running time; iSNC) or consummatory response (sucrose licking; cSNC) following a surprising downshift in expected reward. The aversive emotion resulting from the negative discrepancy between the received and expected reward is known as frustration. This effect is temporary; approach behavior gradually recovers after a few sessions with new incentive conditions. It was proposed that counterconditioning, resulting from pairings between frustration and devalued reward, is involved in the recovery of approach behavior. Thus, recovery from frustration depends on the time of exposure to downshifted reward. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments. In Experiment 1, the number of postshift trials was manipulated in a cSNC task (Phase 1) before switching animals to the iSNC task (Phase 2). In Experiment 2, the duration of postshift trials in the cSNC task (Phase 1) was manipulated. Animals receiving less exposure to downshifted reward in Phase 1 showed a stronger SNC effect in Phase 2 than animals with more exposure. More extensive downshift experience created more opportunities to develop counterconditioning of the disruptive effects of frustration. Based on previous studies, animals that experienced recovery in Phase 1 would show reduced neural activity in some brain regions (e.g., ACC, amygdala) in the second task, corresponding to inhibition of emotional activation.