BEHAVIORAL DEFINITION OF MINIMAL REACTION TIME IN MONKEYS.
Abstract
Two monkeys (M. mulatta) were trained to press a telegraph key after onset of a tone and to release it after a fixed foreperiod of 1 sec ended by a light flash (SD). To be reinforced, the response had to fall within a payoff band, with two limits 50 msec. apart, located at some interval after SD. The payoff band was moved toward SD in a gradually descending series and then returned to longer intervals in an ascending series while medians and semi-interquartile ranges (SIQRs) were determined from latency distributions for each band. A simple RT model suggested that latency distributions could be composed of a combination of high-variability foreperiod time estimations, low-variability minimal RTs or responses timed from SD. The SIQR, according to the model, would increase rapidly when the animal included foreperiod estimation in his latency distribution to meet a fast band location. Minimal RT was defined as the fastest the animal would go before beginning to inflate his variability and decrease his reinforcements by foreperiod estimations. The predictions of the model were confirmed. The results are used to evaluate the interpretation of RT as a scaling measure of subjective intensity. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0709081
Entities
People
- Carol A. Saslow
Organizations
- Columbia University