Browsing by Author "Hoffman, Ronald B."
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Item Behavioral modification in a shape discrimination task via brain homogenates(1971) Hoffman, Ronald B.; Braud, William G.; Brown, Eric R.; Fenimore, David C.The specificity of behavior modification with brain extracts in a shape discrimination task and the nature of the active substances mediating the phenomenon were investigated. Goldfish, Carassius auratus, 6-7 inches in length were trained to discriminate between two triangular shapes in an appetitive design for each of two phases of the study. Group E1(n=8) was reinforced with a food pellet for an approach to an upright isosceles triangle; Group E2(n=8) was trained to approach an inverted isosceles triangle; Group C (n=8) was a control group which was kept naive with respect to the task but was equated to the experimental groups in terms of deprivation and feeding. Experimental fish received ten trials per day until they reached a criterion of two successive runs of 9 correct responses per 10 responses and at least four days (six days in phase II) of training, at which time they were sacrificed 20 hours after the last trial. Extracts were prepared from each of the groups of pooled brains for Group C, Group E1, and Group E2 for phase I and phase II. In phase I a crude RNA extract was prepared from each group. In phase II, a protein extract, a dialyzate extract, and a retentate extract were prepared from each group. Extracts were injected intracranially into naive 3-4 inch goldfish which were tested at 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours following injection. Each recipient first received ten non-reinforced test trials per day. Injection and testing were done 'blind.' During training and testing, initial responses (choices) and latency measures were recorded. Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks tests were applied on the difference (change) of D scores over days. The preference parameter D consisted of the difference between measures at the upright triangle and the inverted triangle. [...]Item Tension reduction in striate muscle with steady-state magnetic fields(1975) Berg, Richard Alan; Chute, Douglas L.; Sheer, Daniel E.; Kimball, Aubrey P.; Hoffman, Ronald B.Clinical reports have indicated that a magnetic field will result in the relaxation of muscle cramps. Two experiments were designed to study the phenomenon. Experiment I was- designed to determine if the observed phenomenon is physiologically or psychologically based. In the event that the results of Experiment I indicated a physiological basis for the magnetic field effect, Experiment II was designed to determine the mechanism through which a magnetic field acts. In Experiment I, muscle tension was induced with a cold pressor ice bath. For each subject, muscle tension was significantly reduced (p< 0.01) in the presence of the magnetic field. In Experiment II, muscle tension was induced in one of three ways: a cold pressor ice bath, physical exercise, or electrical stimulation. Exposure to the magnetic field resulted in a significant decrease (p<0.0001) induced by the cold pressor while tension induced by physical exercise or electrical stimulation was not significantly affected by the magnetic field. The results are discussed in terms of a possible magnetic field effect on blood circulation. In addition, magnets are offered as a theraputic aid in the relief of cramps.