Publications by authors named "Rapheal G Williams"

Studies of instrumental responding often include the delivery of a cue that is coincident with the delivery of the reinforcer. One purpose of this is for the cue to be removed during extinction and then presented later to assess whether responding returns (cue-induced reinstatement). In two experiments, we examined the effects of having a cue associated with reinforcement present or absent during extinction.

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The actions of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the core of the nucleus accumbens including increasing dopamine release and inducing conditioned place preference in stress-naïve animals. However, following two-day, repeated forced swim stress (rFSS), neither of these effects are present, indicating a stress-sensitive interaction between CRF and dopamine. To ascertain the degree to which this mechanism influences integrated, reward-based decision making, we used an operant concurrent-choice task where mice could choose between two liquid receptacles containing a sucrose solution or water delivery.

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Article Synopsis
  • A recent WHO report shows that many teenagers still drink alcohol, despite efforts to reduce its use.
  • Drinking in the teenage years can mess up how the brain develops, making it harder to make good decisions and learn from experiences.
  • Research on rats suggests that drinking alcohol during adolescence leads to riskier decision-making and changes in learning as adults, which could make them more likely to develop problems with alcohol later in life.
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