A Systematic Investigation of Warning Stimulus Modality Effects on Two-Way Active Shuttle Avoidance Performance in Rats

Three students systematically investigated the hypothesis of Rosic, Frontali and Bignami (1969) that certain stimuli facilitate higher levels of avoidance performance (i.e., more correct responses) because of their ability to generate greater amounts of unconditioned motor activity during the stimulus presentation. Experiment I showed that buzzer, tone and light stimuli produce different amounts of unconditioned motor activity in rats, with the buzzer generating the most activity and the light generating the least. In Experiment II, the introduction of non-contingent shock resulted in a reduction in motor activity levels, but the buzzer still produced higher levels of activity than the light. Experiment III directly tested the effects of different motor activity levels in a two-way active shuttle avoidance situation. No significant relationship was shown between the unconditioned motor activity levels associated with warning stimuli and the corresponding avoidance performance. Surprisingly, all warning stimuli produced high levels of avoidance performance. It was suggested that stimulus modality effects still warrant further examination as a possible source of variance in avoidance experiments

The Extended IRTF Spectral Library: Expanded coverage in metallicity, temperature, and surface gravity

We present a $0.7-2.5\mu m$ spectral library of 284 stars observed with the medium-resolution infrared spectrograph, SpeX, at the 3.0 meter NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Maunakea, Hawaii. This library extends the metallicity range of the IRTF Cool Star library beyond solar metallicity to $-1.7 <$ [Fe/H] $< 0.6$. All of the observed stars are also in the MILES optical stellar library, providing continuous spectral coverage for each star from $0.35-2.5\mu m$. The spectra are absolute flux calibrated using Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry and the continuum shape of the spectra is preserved during the data reduction process. Synthesized $JHK_S$ colors agree with observed colors at the $1-2\%$ level, on average. We also present a spectral interpolator that uses the library to create a data-driven model of spectra as a function of $teff$, $logg$, and [Fe/H]. We use the library and interpolator to compare empirical trends with theoretical predictions of spectral feature behavior as a function of stellar parameters. These comparisons extend to the previously difficult to access low-metallicity and cool dwarf regimes, as well as the previously poorly sampled super-solar metallicity regime. The library and interpolator are publicly available.Comment: Accepted to ApJS. The website making the data publicly available will be available soon. For those interested in the meantime, contact the first autho

A New Conceptualization and Approach to Learning and Teaching Motivational Interviewing

Type: Idea Pape