Friday, September 2, 2022

5:30 PM–7:30 PM

Ground Level; Forum

14. Contribution of Neuroscience-Based Measurements for the Field of Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Marcelo Salvador Ceatano (Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC); National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior, Cognition, and Teaching (INCT-ECCE)) et. al.

The field of experimental analysis of behavior has traditionally refrained from using measures typically employed in the field of behavioral neuroscience. Here, we argue that such measures could contribute to the understanding of fundamental principles of behavior, and describe an experiment in which electrophysiological measures contributed towards the understanding of the origins of equivalence relations. Participants (undergraduate students) were trained in a matching-to-sample procedure to establish a set of conditional discriminations. Next, some participants were tested for emergent relations with equivalence probe trials (symmetry-transitivity tests), while others were not. Then, all participants went through a priming task in which they judged whether two stimuli presented sequentially were related or unrelated. During the priming task, electroencephalography (EEG) measurements were recorded. The N400, an event-related potential typically associated with unexpected/unrelated events, had a larger amplitude when the two stimuli presented did not belong to the same equivalence class when compared to stimuli that were part of the same class, regardless of whether participants were exposed to equivalence probe trials or not. This suggests that experience with equivalence tests is not necessary for the emergence of equivalence relations, a conclusion that is theoretically relevant for the field of experimental analysis of behavior.

Friday, September 2, 2022

5:30 PM–7:30 PM

Ground Level; Forum

65. Mindfulness Practice Predicts Interleukin-6 Responses to a Mindfulness-Based Alcohol Relapse Prevention Intervention.

Andrew McClintock (University of Wisconsin (UW) Health), Shannon McCarrick (Access Community Health Centers)

Chronic alcohol misuse can result in chronically elevated interleukin (IL)-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, in the bloodstream. Given that Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) has been shown to reduce alcohol misuse, MBRP might also be effective in reducing IL-6 concentrations. Past research has found, however, that IL-6 does not respond consistently to mindfulness-based interventions. Building on prior studies, we examined whether between-person variability in engagement with mindfulness training (i.e., formal mindfulness practice time) is associated with between-person variability in changes in serum IL-6, using data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating MBRP for Alcohol Dependence (MBRP-A). Participants were 72 alcohol dependent adults (mean age = 43.4 years, 63.9% male, 93.1% White) who received a minimum dose (i.e., at least four sessions) of MBRP-A either at the start of the trial (n=46) or after a 26-week delay (n=26). IL-6 concentrations did not significantly change from pre- to post-intervention for the full sample. Nevertheless, greater mindfulness practice time was significantly associated with reduced IL-6 levels (r = -.27). The association between practice time and IL-6 changes remained significant when controlling for intervention timing (i.e., immediate or after the 26-week delay), demographic characteristics, and changes in mindful awareness, obsessive-compulsive drinking, and depressive symptoms. The association between practice time and IL-6 changes was not significant when omitting the minimum treatment dose requirement. Overall, results suggest that the level of engagement in mindfulness training may predict changes in the inflammatory pathophysiology in adults with alcohol dependence.

Friday, September 2, 2022

5:30 PM–7:30 PM

Ground Level; Forum

66. Measuring Bio-Behavioral Symptom Changes With Children Diagnosed With Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections

Andrew W. Gardner (University of Arizona - College of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics ), Chelsea E. Carr (The University of Arizona - College of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics)

Biological interventions by medical professionals are often warranted for specific diagnoses, particularly when direct etiology is identified. However, with certain psychiatric disorders, etiology is not easily assessed or includes a combination of biological and behavioral variables. For example, children diagnosed with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infection (PANDAS) might have underlying infectious and inflammatory processes where simultaneous treatment of biological and behavioral symptoms are recommended (Thienemann, et al., 2017). Accurate treatment data are crucial to ensure adherence to medical and behavioral interventions to improve functioning and decrease suffering. However, due to the simultaneous treatment of bio-behavioral symptoms, accurate treatment data from medical and behavioral interventions are often difficult to progress monitor. In this presentation, we demonstrate ways to track changes in symptomatology in children diagnosed with PANDAS in response to biological and behavioral treatment strategies by a multidisciplinary team of professionals (e.g., behavior analysis, psychiatry, pediatrics, immunology). ABA-based data collection methods including scatterplot, multi-element designs, and function-based narratives were used to track intervention variables as well as changes in symptoms over time for 2 children diagnosed with PANDAS.

Friday, September 2, 2022

10:30 AM–11:20 AM

Meeting Level 2; Wicklow Hall 2A

Jack J McDowell & Steven J Riley (Emory University)

McDowell’s evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics (ETBD) has successfully replicated the patterns of choice found in live animals under schedules of VI and VR reinforcement, both on molar and molecular scales. However, it bears little resemblance to the workings of animal bodies, and so lacks face validity. This presentation argues that the ETBD approximates a neural reinforcement process. First, it identifies an isomorphism between the space of outputs of the theory with the space of states in a neural network known as a restricted Boltzmann machine. Next, a “relaxation” of this network toward biological realism is presented, with real-valued connection weights that change like biological synapses. Both networks respond to reinforcement and produce sequences of outputs that replicate the major findings of the ETBD. This link from ETBD to biologically inspired networks gives a rigorous foundation to the selectionist metaphor of reinforcement.

Friday, September 2, 2022

11:30 AM–12:20 PM

Meeting Level 2; Wicklow Hall 2A

Guido D’angelo (Dalla Luna - Bari) et. al. & Jared T. Armshaw (University of North Texas; Barrett Endowment for Neuro-Operant Research)

Early behavior analysts established salient boundaries between Behavior Analysis and physiology while maintaining the supposition that the two domains would eventually establish interconnections with each other (Skinner 75). Since that time, Neuroscience has developed into a large and technologically advanced field. Because of these advances, new opportunities to cross boundaries between the fields have developed, for example, the development of new technologies for re-establishing repertoires impaired by neurological damage. Following the aftermath of damage, the brain is in a state of flux as it rearranges to establish new neural networks that aid in the emittance operant behavior. Neuromodulatory systems are circuits in the brain that are linked to behavior processes and are critical for the reestablishment of new networks. Of particular interest is the dopaminergic system, which often activates in connection to reinforcement. This paper will review how a radical behaviorist approach to rehabilitation may be compatible with neural stimulation approaches that could utilize dopamine manipulations in concert with contingencies to address brain damage. Finally, we emphasize the importance for behavioral neuroscience to maintain a multifaceted approach when addressing repertoires perturbed by neurological damage.

Friday, September 2, 2022

4:00 PM–4:50 PM

Auditorium

Suzanne H. Mitchell (Oregon Health & Science University)

Behavior analysts seek to identify factors that influence behavior, which enables them to predict future responses and develop therapeutic plans by which maladaptive behaviors can change. Usually behavioral science concentrates on environmental factors, but with the implicit understanding that the biology of the organism is critical for determining an individual’s responses to environmental events and the efficacy of consequences to reinforce or punish those responses. This presentation will provide an overview and examples of how genotype influences brain structure and function, thereby providing the canvas on which environmental conditions and outcomes are linked can yield general behavioral effects, as well as providing the source of individual differences. Correlational and experimental techniques by which conclusions linking genes to behavior will be described and critically evaluated.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

8:00 AM–9:50 AM

Meeting Level 2; Wicklow Hall 2A

Erik Arntzen (Oslo Metropolitan University) & Julio C. De Rose (Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos)

Previous research has shown that forming both immediate and delayed emergence of equivalence classes could be influenced by different variables. Papers in the present symposium will discuss such variables and present some additional measurements, as event-related potentials and eye movements. In the first presentation, Granerud, Arntzen, Elvsåshagen, Hatlestad, and Malt describe and discuss the results of a study in which event-related potential (ERP) N400 has been included as an additional measurement. In the second presentation, Braaten and Arntzen outline the results of a study using eye-tracking equipment when training and testing conditional discriminations. In the third presentation, Lian and Arntzen show how it is possible to analyze how the arrangement of different types of trials test could influence delayed emergence. Finally, Ayres-Pereira and Arntzen present a study in which the discriminability of different stimuli is essential for inclusion in equivalence classes. In the first presentation, adults with high functioning autism and adults without any known diagnosis participated. In the three other presentations, university students served as participants.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

2:00 PM–3:50 PM

TBD 1

Christine E. Hughes (University of North Carolina Wilmington) & Jack Bergman (Harvard Medical School - McLean Hospital)

Behavior analysis research plays an important role in the discovery and evaluation of psychoactive drugs and the development of novel pharmacotherapies. This symposium covers several lines of research investigating the behavioral effects of drugs and demonstrates approaches for rigorously characterizing drug effects in vivo. The first presenter (Dr. Vanessa Minervini) will describe the development of a choice procedure for studying the reinforcing and punishing effects of drugs and drug mixtures. The second presenter (Dr. Brian Kangas) will outline a translational approach to accelerate medications development for neuropsychiatric disorders involving anhedonia. The third presenter (Dr. Ray Pitts) will discuss how behavioral procedures can be adapted to allow for parametric examination of effects of the reinforcement dimensions involved in impulsive choice. The fourth presenter (Dr. David Maguire) will review preclinical studies demonstrating the therapeutic potential of a long-acting mu opioid receptor antagonist for treating opioid use disorder. Dr. Jack Bergman will serve as the discussant. Taken together, these presentations will provide a sampling of contemporary research in behavioral pharmacology, while highlighting the complex interactions among drugs, behavior, and environment and underscoring the value of behavioral research for developing novel, safe, and effective therapeutics.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

4:00 PM–4:50 PM

Meeting Level 1; Liffey Hall 1

Richard Cook (Applied Behavior Medicine Associates of Hershey)

Learning to play a Musical composition provides a window to see Brain and Behavior Interactions. Eventually the day dreaming piano student realizes that the fingers are playing notes, correctly or incorrectly, and the brain is focused on something else. Understanding the sequences of behavior, at times occurring far faster than one can actually consciously read the music and direct up to ten fingers to strike, and in what sequence, illustrates the brain's acting before the "conscious" thought or the finger strikes the key, as the brain prepares the finger to move to a note, the wrist to change its angle for the next note, without the pianist consciously noting or directing such. Similarly, when one sits down to play a piece of music not played in months or even years, one can watch as deliberate attempts to read the music and slowly strike the correct note, become followed eventually with the other hand playing, and both hands playing faster, than once is consciously directing, as the firing of learned well but long forgotten neural trace pathways increase the robustness of connections (decrease resistance) at the synapses, and subsequently recruit "collateral" neural pathways previously associated with the targeted pathway. Presentation to include examples highlighting these and other principle points, as well as feature fMRI imaging studies associating the behavior of playing a musical instrument with the neural imaging of brain pathways directing it.