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Delayed Punishment Discounting: Evaluation Of Sex Differences And Contribution Of Orbitofrontal Cortex, Anna Liley Vongphrachanh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The majority of the research studying punishment has focused on an aversive stimulus delivered immediately after an action. However, negative consequences often occur long after a decision has been made. The delayed punishment decision-making task was developed to address this gap in literature. Rats chose between a small reinforcer and a large reinforcer accompanied by a mild foot shock. The shock was preceded by a delay, which increased throughout the session. Rats discounted the negative value of delayed punishment, as indicated by increased choice of the punished reward as the delay preceding the shock lengthened. Female rats discounted delayed punishment …