Search results for "Choice"
showing 10 items of 795 documents
Spatial cues are relevant for learned preference/aversion shifts due to amino-acid deficiencies.
1998
Rats are able to choose appropriately between two versions of a novel diet, when one is amino-acid devoid and the other corrected. Recognition of the deficiency has been reported to occur within hours and to initiate a strong conditioned aversion. For that purpose the rat can use either oro-sensory cues or another alternative as the conditioned stimulus (CS) with which to associate the unconditioned stimuli (US) of either the adequate diet or the devoid diet. The present investigation was designed to determine whether rats have the ability to use place as a cue in amino-acid preference/aversion. In order to avoid interfering with any other than spatial sensory discrimination between the dev…
Neuromuscular, metabolic and hormonal profiles of young tennis players and untrained boys.
1989
This study compared the neuromuscular, metabolic and hormonal profiles of trained prepubescent tennis players and an untrained group. The boys in the experimental group (n = 9; mean age +/- S.D. = 11.4 +/- 0.5 years) had participated in tennis training for 2.3 +/- 1.0 years and the boys in the control group (n = 9; mean age +/- S.D. = 10.9 +/- 0.4 years) were normal active volunteers. The tennis players were found to be physically more active than the controls when the comparison was made for either 1 year (4.9 +/- 1.8 vs 2.6 +/- 2.5 times per week; P less than 0.05) or for 1 week (3.4 +/- 1.2 vs 0.4 +/- 0.5 times; P less than 0.001) preceding the tests. Choice reaction time was significant…
Using multidimensional scaling in model choice for congenital oesophageal atresia: similarity analysis of human autopsy organ weights with those from…
2020
Swine models had been popular in paediatric oesophageal surgery in the past. Although being largely replaced by rodent models, swine experienced a revival with the establishment of minipig models. However, none of them has ever been investigated for similarity to humans. We conducted a pilot study to determine whether three-week old Pietrain piglets and three-month old Aachen Minipigs are suitable for experimental paediatric oesophageal atresia surgery. We tested the operation's feasibility, performed a necropsy, weighed organs, measured organ length and calculated relative weights and lengths, and measured laboratory parameters. We used multidimensional scaling to assess the similarity of…
Effects of CGS 10746B on hyperactivity and place preference induced by morphine
2001
The effects of CGS 10746B, a dopamine release inhibitor, on spontaneous locomotor activity, morphine-induced hyperactivity, acquisition of conditioned place paradigm and morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was evaluated in male mice. In experiment 1, animals treated with CGS 10746B (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 mg/kg), morphine (40 mg/kg) or morphine (40 mg/kg) plus CGS 10746B (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 mg/kg) were placed in an actimeter during a period of 90 min. In experiment 2, animals treated with CGS 10746B (0.5, 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg), morphine (40 mg/kg) or morphine (40 mg/kg) plus CGS 10746B (0.5, 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) were conditioned following a procedure unbiased …
Role of nitric oxide in pheromone-mediated intraspecific communication in mice
2009
Nitric oxide is known to take part in the control of sexual and agonistic behaviours. This is usually attributed to its role in neural transmission in the hypothalamus and other structures of the limbic system. However, socio-sexual behaviours in rodents are mainly directed by chemical signals detected by the vomeronasal system, and nitric oxide is abundant in key structures along the vomeronasal pathway. Thus, here we check whether pharmacological treatments interfering with nitrergic transmission could affect socio-sexual behaviour by impairing the processing of chemical signals. Treatment with an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis (Nomega-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride, L-N…
Transient and Permanent Experience with Fatty Acids Changes Drosophila melanogaster Preference and Fitness
2013
Food and host-preference relies on genetic adaptation and sensory experience. In vertebrates, experience with food-related cues during early development can change adult preference. This is also true in holometabolous insects, which undergo a drastic nervous system remodelling during their complete metamorphosis, but remains uncertain in Drosophila melanogaster. We have conditioned D. melanogaster with oleic (C18:1) and stearic (C18:0) acids, two common dietary fatty acids, respectively preferred by larvae and adult. Wild-type individuals exposed either during a transient period of development-from embryo to adult-or more permanently-during one to ten generation cycles-were affected by such…
Artificial selection for predatory behaviour results in dietary niche differentiation in an omnivorous mammal
2022
The diet of an individual is a result of the availability of dietary items and the individual's foraging skills and preferences. Behavioural differences may thus influence diet variation, but the evolvability of diet choice through behavioural evolution has not been studied. We used experimental evolution combined with a field enclosure experiment to test whether behavioural selection leads to dietary divergence. We analysed the individual dietary niche via stable isotope ratios of nitrogen ( δ 15 N) and carbon ( δ 13 C) in the hair of an omnivorous mammal, the bank vole, from four lines selected for predatory behaviour and four unselected control lines. Predatory voles had higher hair δ 1…
Rational Choice Theory and the Environment: Variants, Applications, and New Trends
2010
Rational choice theory (RCT) is a research paradigm based on methodological individualism. Collective phenomena are explained by assumptions about the behavior of (subjectively) rational individual or corporate actors. In environmental research, RCT is used to predict ecological perceptions, attitudes and behavior on the micro level, and to shed light on environmental outcomes on the macro level. The most fundamental insight from RCT is that environmental problems are often the result of a social dilemma, that is, individuals’ purposive action leads to unintended negative collective consequences. This chapter addresses variants of RCT including game theory, shows applications in the field o…
The attraction effect in mid-involvement categories: An experimental economics approach
2016
Abstract Contexts, the set of alternatives under consideration, usually influence consumer choice. One of the context effects, namely the attraction effect , spawns considerable conceptual and empirical research, consistent with the aforementioned influence in decision-making. Very recently, some authors have questioned the practical relevance and applicability of the attraction effect. As part of this debate, some authors show that most of the existent research includes important background factors at levels that do not correspond to business reality. In light of the above, this article applies the methodology of experimental economics to the analysis of the attraction effect. The methodol…
CEO tenure and ownership mode choice of Chinese firms: The moderating roles of managerial discretion
2014
Abstract Based on upper echelon theory, this study has explored how CEO tenure affects ownership mode choice of Chinese firms investing abroad, and how some organizational factors, such as firm size, firm age and CEO duality, moderate this relationship. Using secondary data, this study finds CEO tenure has a positive relationship with the choice of full control mode, CEO duality can reinforce this relationship, but firm size and firm age have no significant moderating effect.