Immediate and proactive effects of controllability and predictability on plasma cortisol responses to shocks in dogs.

Abstract

Controllability and predictability are important modulators of the behavioral effects of aversive stimulation on animals. An experiment was conducted to further investigate both the immediate and proactive effects of controllability and predictability of shocks on adrenocortical responsivity. In an initial stress induction phase, the controllability and predictability of electric shocks were independently varied in groups of dogs, and plasma cortisol responses were measured. In a subsequent test phase, all groups of dogs received identical shocks in a novel situation. Cortisol responses to these test shocks were analyzed as a function of the controllability and predictability of previous induction shocks. The results showed that during stress induction, uncontrollable shocks produced significantly greater cortisol elevations that controllable shocks but that predictability had no significant effect on cortisol responses. However, unpredictable shocks during stress induction acted proactively to significantly increase cortisol response to novel test shocks, whereas prior controllability did not modulate subsequent responsivity to novel shocks.

The role of predictability in preventing escape deficits following loss of control over food acquisition

“…Furthermore, itremainspossible that an associative deficit is not responsible for the effect of uncontrollability, but is responsible for the effect of unpredictability. However, some experiments show that control and prediction exert these influences by different mechanisms (e.g., DeCola et al, 1988;Dess et al, 1983;Maier & Warren, 1988). Although the present experiment did not reveal a clear dissociation between the effects of control and prediction, differential experimental situations will be able to separate the relative contributions of the effect of prior controllability and predictability experience in appetitive situations.…”

Effects of predictability on the welfare of captive animals

“…However, other studies (reviewed by Miller, 1979) indicate that in some situations, predictability without control over the onset of events does not appear to be as beneficial as predictability with control. Dess et al (1983) showed that at least in some situations, the effects of controllability and predictability are different and separate.…”

The effects of predictability and controllability in appetitive situation upon subsequent disk-pull escape learning in rats

“…However, these experiments did not compare the effects between control and prediction. Moreover, in terms of physiological indices, Dess et al (1983) reported that both controllability and predictability modulated the physiological impact of shocks in different ways. They found that during stress induction, uncontrollable shocks produced significantly greater cortisol elevations than controllable shocks but that predictability had no significant effect on cortisol responses.…”

“…At present, much literature has reported that the presence of an exteroceptive stimulus prevented the adverse effects of inescapable shocks, when such a stimulus was used as a feedback (backward) stimulus following shock (e.g., DeCola, Rosellini, & Warren, 1988;Maier & Warren, 1988;Mineka, Cook, & Miller, 1984;Rosellini, Warren, & DeCola, 1987;Volpicelli, Ulm, & Altenor, 1984), a cessation signal of shock (Minor, Trauner, Lee, & Dess, 1990), or forward stimulus followed by shock (predictable shock) (e.g., Dess, Linwick, Patterson, Overmier, & Levine, 1983;Jackson & Minor, 1988;Seligman, 1968;Seligman & Meyer, 1970 oscillator and was delivered through the speaker. The escape test was administered in 9-cmwide, 19-cm-high, 18.5-cm-long disk chamber consisting of clear Plexiglas and a floor of stainless steel rods (0.6 cm center to center).…”