Association for Behavior Analysis International

Understanding the preferences of domestic cats (Felis catus) is essential for improving their welfare, enriching their environments, and fostering positive human-animal interactions. This study evaluated feline preferences across four stimulus categories – food, toys, scents, and social interactions – using a free-operant preference assessment conducted in familiar home environments. Five healthy adult cats (2 males, 3 females) participated in 15 sessions over seven days, with assessments conducted in an 8x8-foot space divided into quadrants. Within-category assessments compared three stimuli from the same category presented concurrently, with the total duration of engagement with each stimulus recorded as the primary dependent measure. The most preferred stimulus from each category was then included in between-category assessments, where the top-ranked stimuli from all four categories were presented together to evaluate cross-category preferences. Finally, a reinforcer assessment used a concurrent operant arrangement to determine whether the most and least preferred stimuli predicted operant responding. Preliminary findings reveal individual variability in preferences, with social interaction and food frequently dominating within-category rankings. However, weak-to-moderate correspondence was observed between preference rankings and reinforcer effectiveness. These findings underscore the importance of systematic preference assessments for enhancing feline welfare and enrichment strategies.

The present study evaluates the efficacy of a shaping procedure and differential reinforcement procedure to increase compliance with medical routines in an 11-year-old child diagnosed with autism and intellectual disability with a history of avoidance associated with medical checkups and examinations. An AB single-subject design was implemented and generalization data in hospital were collected. The dependent variable was the percentage of correct steps of blood drawing procedure in the presence of compliant responses. The independent variable was a shaping procedure and differential reinforcement procedure related to the child's gradual exposure to the different stimuli of the examination, with particular reference to the magnitude of the stimuli and the duration of the required compliant response. The blood draw was broken down into 10 sequential steps; the training, consisting of several phases and it was first conducted at an educational center and performed by a behavior analyst and then generalized to the hospital and conducted by the nurse who would perform the draw. Preliminary results, related to the training conducted at the educational center, show an increase in the child's compliance in the different phases of the examination and a decrease in avoidance behaviors.

Objective: Bilateral coordination of hand movements is essential for various daily activities. This study hypothesized that applying transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the cerebellum would enhance bilateral hand coordination. Methods: The study involved a right-handed adult and utilized a single-case research design with an AB phase structure. During the baseline phase (A), no brain stimulation was applied, and participants performed a task involving holding a tray with their right hand while moving it forward with their left hand. In the subsequent intervention phase (B), participants performed the same task while tACS was applied to the left cerebellum for 10 minutes. Movement accuracy was measured three times: at the start, midpoint, and end of the stimulation. Ethics: The intensity and frequency of the cerebellar electrical stimulation were maintained within the safety range confirmed by previous studies and approved by an ethical committee. Results: During the intervention phase, velocity decreased, while acceleration and jerk increased in both hands. Conclusion: The decrease in velocity, along with the increase in acceleration and jerk for both hands, suggests that tACS facilitates more precise adjustments while enabling quicker and more dynamic motor responses. Taken together, these results indicate an overall enhancement of bilateral hand coordination.

Objective: Traditional auditory rehabilitation often uses repetitive training but yields inconsistent results. Recently, paired associative stimulation (PAS), synchronizing auditory stimulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has emerged as a tool to enhance neural functions like synaptic efficiency. This study explored whether PAS improves auditory discrimination by using behavioral and neural measures.

Method: Healthy adults participated. First, the second positive wave (P2) latency, associated with auditory discrimination, was measured. PAS synchronized a 4000 Hz sound to the left temporal lobe with TMS at P2 latency. In the task, 4000 Hz and ±200 Hz sounds were presented 100 times each (300 total). As a behavioral measure, the participants responded by pressing the corresponding button for each frequency. As a neural measure, the P2 amplitudes were evaluated during the task.
Ethics: TMS intensity and frequency were kept within the safety range validated by prior studies and ethical approval.

Results: The discrimination accuracy for 4000 Hz was very low rate. The P2 amplitudes at 4000 Hz was relatively higher than at other frequencies.

Conclusion: Although discrimination accuracy did not show improvement, the neural measure such as the P2 amplitudes show enhancement, suggesting that PAS may enhance synaptic transmission efficiency associated with auditory discrimination.