Impaired instrumental choice in crib-biting horses (Equus caballus)

Matthew Parker, Edward S. Redhead, Deborah Goodwin, Sebastian D. McBride

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Horses displaying an oral stereotypy were tested on an instrumental choice paradigm to examine differences in learning from non-stereotypic counterparts. Stereotypic horses are known to have dysfunction of the dorsomedial striatum, and lesion studies have shown that this region may mediate response-outcome learning. The paradigm was specifically applied in order to examine learning that requires maintenance of response–outcome judgements. The non-stereotypic horses learned, over three sessions, to choose a more immediate reinforcer, whereas the stereotypic horses failed to do so. This suggests an initial behavioural correlate for dorsomedial striatum dysregulation in the stereotypy phenotype.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-140
JournalBehavioural Brain Research
Volume191
Issue number1
Early online date16 Mar 2008
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2008

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Impaired instrumental choice in crib-biting horses (Equus caballus)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this