ABSTRACT
The neuroscience of motivated behavior, as other sciences, depends on the types and quality of its tools. Just as early advances in astronomy were made possible by refinements in glass-shaping methods and the invention of the telescope, so too will advances in behavioral and biological techniques permit the growth and development of behavioral neuroscience. However, even though much attention has been focused on the development of biological methods, in our opinion behavioral neuroscience has not given enough attention to refining its behavioral methods. For example, in the early days of self-stimulation research few investigators considered the inadequacies of simple rate of response on a continuous reinforcement schedule as a behavioral measure. Data showing that a drug administration reduced response rate were presented without enough consideration for whether the primary action was to reduce the reward properties of electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB), or to interfere with motor performance capabilities of the subject.
