Positive and Negative Reinforcement from Intracranial Stimulation of a Teleost

Abstract

Tests in which an animal receives or avoids direct electrical stimulation of its brain according to its position in the tank as well as tests of free operant behavior demonstrate the existence of both positively and negatively rewarding areas in the brain of the goldfish.

Telencephalon and Behavior in Teleost Fish

“…This led to similar research in other vertebrate groups, including fish. Boyd and Gardner (1962) demonstrated that such areas were also present in the brain of the goldfish (Carassius auratus). Side preference tests, in which the animal received a stimulus via an electrode placed in the brain, were a part of their experimental procedure.…”

The Fish Telencephalon and Its Relation to Learning

“…Both Boyd and Gardner (1962) and Savage (1971) have examined the behavior of implanted goldfish for reinforcement effects, using similar techniques of reversal of end-preference in a tank. Boyd and Gardner reported on one telencephalic area found to be negatively reinforcing and one tectal area found to be positively reinforcing, although the interpretation of the tectal result is difficult in view of the many functions of the area.…”

Employing labor-supply theory to measure the reward value of electrical brain stimulation

“…Such rewarding effects have been demonstrated across the vertebrate phylum, from goldfish to humans (Bishop et al, 1963;Boyd and Gardiner, 1962;Distel, 1978;Lilly and Miller, 1962;Olds and Milner, 1954;Porter et al, 1959;Roberts, 1958). Figure 1, a summary of brain stimulation reward sites in the rat (Wise, 1996), illustrates their widespread distribution.…”