Publications by authors named "Emma S Lydall"
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia remain an unmet clinical need as they are common, persistent, respond poorly to existing treatments and lead to disability. Blunted affect, alogia, asociality, anhedonia and avolition are regarded as key negative symptoms despite DSM-IV-TR specifying a more limited range. The key to development of improved therapies is improved animal models that mimic the human condition in terms of behaviour and pathology and that predict efficacy of novel treatments in patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSimultaneous contrast: evidence from licking microstructure and cross-solution comparisons.
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
April 2011
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed how rats' licking behavior changed based on different concentrations of sucrose solutions, using traditional and new testing methods.
- Results showed that when rats licked lower concentrations of sucrose alongside a higher concentration, they consumed more (positive contrast), while the opposite was true when consuming lower concentrations with lower ones (negative contrast).
- Additionally, changes in licking patterns, such as cluster size, correlated with the concentration of the sucrose solutions consumed, indicating that sensory mechanisms play a role in these contrast effects.
Rationale: The N-methyl D-aspartate antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) is purported to mimic the negative, cognitive and positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Thus, acute and sub-chronic PCP treatment in rodents might produce anhedonia, a decrease in the pleasure produced by rewards.
Objectives: Experiment 1 investigated whether acute PCP treatment changes the value of sucrose.