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The Basal Ganglia VII pp 299–312Cite as

Self-Stimulation and Synaptic Plasticity

A novel approach to reward-related learning

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Part of the book series: Advances in Behavioral Biology ((ABBI,volume 52))

Abstract

It has been recognised since the middle of last century that electrical stimulation applied to various brain areas acts as a positive reinforcer. Olds and Milner (1954) were the first to report that rats could learn to press a lever to self-administer electrical current to an electrode implanted in certain brain regions. The discovery of this phenomenon, known as intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), was a source of excitement amongst psychologists and physiologists alike. In the words of Olds and Milner,1 ICSS was seen as “a methodological foundation for a physiological study of the mechanisms of reward” (pg. 426).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Anatomy and Structural Biology and the Neuroscience Research Centre, University of Otago, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin, New Zealand

    John N. J. Reynolds & Jeffery R. Wickens

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  1. John N. J. Reynolds
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  1. The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Louise F. B. Nicholson  & Richard L. M. Faull  & 

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Reynolds, J.N.J., Wickens, J.R. (2002). Self-Stimulation and Synaptic Plasticity. In: Nicholson, L.F.B., Faull, R.L.M. (eds) The Basal Ganglia VII. Advances in Behavioral Biology, vol 52. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0715-4_30

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