Schedule control of behavior reinforced by electrical stimulation of the brain.

Electrical stimulation of the brain was used to train rats to respond on random interval schedules. Stimulation was either delayed for 0.5 second and preceded by a brief signal, delayed and unsignaled, or presented contiguously with the response. In every case, responding was maintained on schedules and showed resistance to extinction typical of food-reinforced responding. Priming was never necessary. These data cast doubt on the generality of beliefs about the behavioral effects of brain stimulation reinforcement.