Effects of methsuximide and mephenytoin on the responding of pigeons under a fixed-consecutive-number schedule with and without an external discriminative stimulus

Abstract

The effects of the antiepilepsy drugs methsuximide and mephenytoin were examined in pigeons responding under a fixed-consecutive-number (FCN) schedule with and without an added external discriminative stimulus. On this schedule, food was delivered whenever subjects responded between 8 and 12 times on one response key (work key), and then responded once on a second response key (reinforcement key). Under one variant of the FCN schedule (FCN 8-SD), an external discriminative stimulus signalled completion of the response requirement on the work key; no such stimulus change occurred under the other (FCN 8) schedule. The two FCN schedules (with an without stimulus change) alternated at 5-min intervals within each session for all subjects. Methsuximide (25-200 mg/kg) and mephenytoin (40-160 mg/kg) produced generally dose-dependent decreases in percentage of reinforced response runs and rate of responding. The magnitudes of these effects were comparable under both variants of the FCN schedule.