In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), functional behaviors such as checking that a door is locked become dysfunctional, maladaptive, and debilitating. However, it is currently unknown how aversive and appetitive motivations interact to produce functional and dysfunctional behavior in OCD. Here we show a double dissociation in the effects of…

Active avoidance (AA) is an important paradigm for studying mechanisms of aversive instrumental learning, pathological anxiety, and active coping. Unfortunately, AA neurocircuits are poorly understood, partly because behavior is highly variable and reflects a competition between Pavlovian reactions and instrumental actions. Here we exploited the…

BDNF-induced signaling is essential for the development of the central nervous system and critical for plasticity in adults. Mature BDNF signals through TrkB, while its precursor proBDNF employs p75[superscript NTR], resulting in activation of signaling cascades with opposite effects on neuronal survival, growth cone decisions, and synaptic…

A dynamic model of how animals learn to regulate their behavior under time-based reinforcement schedules is presented. It assumes serial activation of behavioral states during the inter-reinforcement interval, an associative process linking the states and operant response, and a rule mapping the states onto response rate. (SLD)

This article focuses on the mechanisms of the human brain which bring about body movements. Included is a discussion of the way in which the brain and spinal cord issue commands and receive signals. (Author/SA)

A battery of behavioral tests yielding 79 measures, many of which were presumably related to learning and memory, was administered to house mice of seven inbred strains. An analysis of the factorial structure indicated that the two principal and most pervasive factors underlying performance on the battery involved the initiation and maintenance of…

Investigates a chimpanzee's capacity to recognize representations of problems and solutions, as well as its ability to perceive the relationship between each type of problem and its appropriate solutions using televised programs and photographic solutions. (HM)

A study of the effect of the twin sibling relationship upon interactions between monkey mothers and infants. Findings provided strong support for the prediction that the twin sibling presence decreases the amount of behavior directed from infant to mother. Differences in maternal behavior were concluded to be reactions to differences in infant…