Changes in Skin Conductance, Skin Potential and the Suppression of Operant Behaviour During CER Conditioning in the Restrained Rat

Abstract

<p>Skin conductance (SC), skin potential (SP), and lever pressing for a food reward were examined throughout discriminative CER training in restrained rats. Restraint was accomplished through use of a fixed electrode technique in which the animal was immobilized on a platform and electrodermal recording electrodes attached directly to the footpads, thus eliminating the artifacts inherent in grid techniques of recording electrodermal phenomena. Conditioned suppression of lever pressing was accompanied by an increase in SC amplitude and an increase in SP negativity. These results were attributed to peripheral and central response mechanisms regulating electrodermal activity.</p>