Effects of Pictorial Warning Labels for Cigarettes and Quit-Efficacy on Emotional Responses, Smoking Satisfaction, and Cigarette Consumption.

Background: Experimental research on pictorial warning labels for cigarettes has primarily examined immediate intentions to quit.

Purpose: Here, we present the results of a clinical trial testing the impact on smoking during and after a 28-day period of naturalistic exposure to pictorial versus text-only warnings.

Methods: Daily cigarette smokers (N = 244) at two sites in the USA were randomly assigned to receive their regular brand of cigarettes for 4 weeks with one of three warnings: (a) text-only, (b) pictures and text as proposed by FDA, or (c) the warnings proposed by FDA with additional text that elaborated on the risks of smoking.

Cholinergic blockade effects on spatial integration versus cue discrimination performance.

A within-subjects investigation was conducted to determine the effects of central versus peripheral cholinergic blockade in animals tested either on a spatial integration task in which the possibility of rule learning was also available or on a visual discrimination task in which the daily location of food was marked by a distinctive visual stimulus pattern. All testing was conducted on the Maier three-table apparatus. It was found that the only effect of the peripheral cholinergic blockade on the performance of either task group was to produce a decrease in exploratory behavior.

Spatial problem solving in a dual runway task by normal and septal rats.

The addition of a dual runway configuration did not disrupt the successful performance of normal animals, nor did it improve the deficit of septal rats on the Maier three-table spatial integration task. Both groups of animals displayed a preference for the outside runway configuration during exploration. During testing, however, septal animals retained this preference, whereas normal subjects attempted solution by using the inside runway configuration.

Performance of rats on the Maier three-table task following septal lesions occurring 24 hours after birth.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether behavioral sparing would be demonstrated when septal lesions occurred prior to the age at which the tested behavior first appears in normal rats. Rats given septal lesions at 1 day or 7 days after birth performed at approximately chance on the Maier three-table task when tested at 90 days of age. Rats that had control electrode insertions at the same ages performed at a level similar to normal animals.

Response suppression on DRL by rats with septal damage.

The effectiveness of the differential reinforcement for low rates of responding (DRL) contingency in suppressing response rates of septal rats was investigated by using a Multi-DRL-yoked-VI (variable interval) schedule of reinforcement. The yoking procedure equated the interreinforcement times on the two schedules. Each schedule was in effect for half of each session, and the change in schedule was signaled by the presence or absence of a cue light.

Medial septal lesions: disruptions of microregulatory patterns and circadian rhythmicity in rats.

The microregulatory patterns of food and water intake were examined in male and female rats bearing medical septal lesions and in sham-operated controls. Medial septal ablation, although not affecting the total amount of food or water ingested, resulted in a profound disruption of the pattern of intake. Circadian rhythmicity was disrupted for a period, returning to normal by 25 days postlesion.

Influence of neonatal septal lesions on DRL performance in adulthood.

Two experiments are reported describing the influence of neonatal septal lesions on responding of rats trained on a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule in adulthood. Rats given septal lesions at 1 day or at 7 days after birth emitted a significantly higher number of responses and earned fewer reinforcements than did animals given control electrode insertions. Thus, the inefficient performance on the DRL schedule, often observed after septal lesions in adulthood, does not depend upon the age of the animal at the time of the lesion.

Cued DRL training: effects on the permanence of lesion-induced overresponding.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the degree to which lesions in the septum and other anatomically related structures result in the presence and/or permanence of an overresponding symptom on a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL 20 sec) schedule. Animals were given 15 days of training to determine the presence or absence of overresponding. Then, animals that overresponded were divided into two groups, with one receiving 15 days of cued DRL training and 15 days of regular DRL training while the other received 30 days of regular DRL training.

Effects of prefeeding on the DRL preformance of rats with septal lesions.

Two experiments reported the effects of prefeeding normal and septal rats prior to their daily sessions on a differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL-20) schedule. Prefeeding reduced responses and increased reinforcements in the case of septal animals, regardless of the level of body weight. In the case of normal animals, prefeeding led to a decrease in responding and an increase in the number of reinforcements obtained only when the animals were at 85% of ad-lib levels, prefeeding, although it decreased responding, also decreased the frequency of obtained reinforcements.

Cholinergic blockade, septal lesions, and DRL performance in the rat.

Four experiments describing the effects of cholinergic blockade produced by systemic injection of either atropine sulfate or atropine methyl nitrate on the differential reinforcement of low rate (DRL) responding of rats are reported. It was shown that atropine sulfate injected either chronically or at high dosage suppressed DRL responding. Injected acutely, atropine sulfate produced disinhibitory effects.