Selective attention to visual compound stimuli in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Five squirrel monkeys served under a simultaneous discrimination paradigm with visual compound stimuli that allowed measurement of excitatory and inhibitory control exerted by individual stimulus components (form and luminance/“color”), which could not be presented in isolation (i.e., form could not be presented without color). After performance exceeded a criterion of 75% correct during training, unreinforced test trials with stimuli comprising recombined training stimulus components were interspersed while the overall reinforcement rate remained constant for training and testing. The training–testing series was then repeated with reversed reinforcement contingencies. The findings were that color acquired greater excitatory control than form under the original condition, that no such difference was found for the reversal condition or for inhibitory control under either condition, and that overall inhibitory control was less pronounced than excitatory control. The remarkably accurate performance throughout suggested that a forced 4-s delay between the stimulus presentation and the opportunity to respond was effective in reducing “impulsive” responding, which has implications for suppressing impulsive responding in children with autism and with attention deficit disorder.

Research highlights▶ Selective attention with visual compound stimuli in nonhuman primates. ▶ Assessment of excitatory and inhibitory stimulus control of inseparable stimulus components with summation test. ▶ Effect of reinforcement schedule on acquisition rate. ▶ Implications for impulsivity in children with attention deficit disorder and autism spectrum disorder.