In signaled active avoidance (SigAA), rats learn to suppress Pavlovian freezing and emit actions to remove threats and prevent footshocks. SigAA is critical for understanding aversively motivated instrumental behavior and anxiety-related active coping. However, with standard protocols ~25% of rats exhibit high freezing and poor avoidance. This has…

The purpose of this study was to identify appropriate outcome measures and assess preliminary efficacy of occupational therapy in an equine environment (OT[superscript ee] HORSPLAY) for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-four youth with ASD aged 6-13 were randomized to 10 weeks of OT[superscript ee] HORSPLAY or to a waitlist control…

Background: Dog-assisted therapy (DAT) is hypothesized to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Down syndrome (DS). Methods: The present authors compared synchronous movement patterns of these children (n = 10) and their therapy dogs during the first and last session of a DAT programme, and their post-therapy changes in emotional…

Canine-assisted activities in schools can benefit students' educational, emotional, and social needs. Furthermore, they could be an effective form of non-clinical mental health treatment for children and adolescents. In the United Kingdom, school dogs are growing in popularity, however, little is known about how parents perceive canine-assisted…

Fear extinction-based exposure therapy is the most common behavioral therapy for anxiety and trauma-related disorders, but fear extinction memories are labile and fear tends to return even after successful extinction. The relapse of fear contributes to the poor long-term efficacy of exposure therapy. A single session of voluntary exercise can…

When discrete localizable stimuli are used during appetitive Pavlovian conditioning, "sign-tracking" and "goal-tracking" responses emerge. Sign-tracking is observed when conditioned responding is directed toward the CS, whereas goal-tracking manifests as responding directed to the site of expected reward delivery. These…

Clinical Question: In adolescents, does incorporating hippotherapy with speech-language intervention improve speech- and language-based outcomes more than traditional therapy alone? Method: Systematic Review Study Sources: CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, ASHA Search Terms: communication disorders OR speech therapy OR speech pathology OR speech…

Aversive outcomes punish behaviors that cause their occurrence. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated in punishment learning and behavior, although the exact roles for different PFC regions in instrumental aversive learning and decision-making remain poorly understood. Here, we assessed the role of the orbitofrontal (OFC), rostral…

Many neurological and psychiatric disorders are characterized by deficits in cognitive flexibility. Modeling cognitive flexibility in mice enables the investigation of mechanisms underlying these deficits. The majority of currently available behavioral tests targeting this cognitive domain are reversal learning tasks that require scheduled food…

Traumatic experiences early in life can contribute to the development of mood and anxiety disorders that manifest during adolescence and young adulthood. In young rats exposed to acute fear or stress, alterations in neural development can lead to enduring behavioral abnormalities. Here, we used a modified extinction intervention…

The present research explored the effects of restraint stress on two situations involving incentive downshift: consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) and extinction of escape behavior in the Barnes maze. First, Experiment 1 confirmed that the restraint stress procedure used in these experiments increased levels of circulating…

Reinforcing an alternative response in the same context as a target response reduces the rate of occurrence but increases the persistence of that target response. Applied researchers who use such techniques to decrease the rate of a target problem behavior risk inadvertently increasing the persistence of the same problem behavior. Behavioral…

Research into children with autism indicates that therapeutic sessions with dogs might provide a way of encouraging social interaction and reducing solitary or repetitive behaviours. With recent educational ASD interventions aimed at providing ways of encouraging intrinsic motivation to socially engage, it is possible that sessions with dogs could…

Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, especially in children. Unfortunately, a paucity of literature exists regarding the treatment of specific phobia in young children, despite the knowledge that traditional techniques (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT]) may not be practical. Therefore, the purpose of this article…

Four pigeons were trained on two-key concurrent variable-interval schedules with no changeover delay. In Phase 1, relative reinforcers on the two alternatives were varied over five conditions from 0.1 to 0.9. In Phases 2 and 3, we instituted a molar feedback function between relative choice in an interreinforcer interval and the probability of…