The reinforcement omission effect (ROE) has been attributed to both motivational and attentional consequences of surprising reinforcement omission. Recent evidence suggests that the basolateral complex of the amygdala is involved in motivational components related to reinforcement value, whereas the central nucleus of the amygdala is involved in the processing of the attentional consequences of surprise. This study was designed to verify whether the mechanisms involved in the ROE depend on the integrity of either the basolateral amygdala complex or central nucleus of the amygdala. The ROE was evaluated in rats with lesions of either the central nucleus or basolateral complex of the amygdala and trained on a fixed-interval schedule procedure (Experiment 1) and fixed-interval with limited hold signaled schedule procedure (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 1 showed that sham-operated rats and rats with lesions of either the central nucleus or basolateral area displayed the ROE. In contrast, in Experiment 2, subjects with lesions of the central nucleus or basolateral complex of the amygdala exhibited a smaller ROE compared with sham-operated subjects. Thus, the effects of selective lesions of amygdala subregions on the ROE in rats depended on the training procedure. Furthermore, the absence of differences between the lesioned groups in either experiment did not allow the dissociation of attentional or motivational components of the ROE with functions of specific areas of the amygdala. Thus, results did not show a functional double-dissociation between the central nucleus and basolateral area in the ROE.

Este trabalho apresenta a segunda versão do processo de avaliação dos periódicos brasileiros da área da psicologia, conduzida pela Comissão Editorial Capes-Anpepp. As demandas para a realização deste empreendimento, que teve a sua versão inicial realizada em 1999, são as seguintes: (a) qualificar os veículos científicos nos quais publicam pesquisadores brasileiros vinculados aos programas de pós-graduação em psicologia; (b) criar mecanismos para viabilizar a manutenção dos periódicos com melhor avaliação; (c) estabelecer parâmetros para o incremento da qualidade dos periódicos da área. Foram avaliados 51 periódicos da área citados nos relatórios dos programas de pós-graduação do período 1999-2000, usando uma ficha de avaliação contendo cinco conjuntos de itens (Normalização, Publicação, Circulação, Autoria e Conteúdo e Gestão editorial), acompanhada de instruções enviadas para os editores dos periódicos. Posteriormente, as fichas foram conferidas pela Comissão, gerando uma classificação de duas entradas, de Âmbito (Nacional/Local) e Qualidade (A/B/C). Os principais resultados indicam que houve uma perceptível melhora na classificação das revistas brasileiras da área, nos seus diversos aspectos. Questões vinculadas à avaliação e desafios para as novas etapas são discutidas.

The present paper reports the second evaluation of Brazilian psychology journals carried out by the Editorial Committee CAPES-ANPEPP. The objectives of this evaluation, which started in 1999, were (a) to assess the journals Brazilian in which researchers affiliated to graduate courses in psychology usually publish, (b) to develop ways to support the best journals and (c) to establish parameters for the improvement of these journals. In the present assessment, 51 journals cited by the graduate programs reports in the period of 1999-2000 were evaluated. We used an Evaluation Form that consists of five sets of items (Normalization, Publication, Circulation, Authorship and Contents, and Editorial Management). The forms were completed by the editors and checked by the Committee. This instrument allowed to establish a ranking by circulation (National/Local) and quality (A/B/C) criteria. The main results showed that there was a remarkable improvement in the Brazilian journals compared to the first evaluation. Some questions related to the evaluation process itself and the challenges for the next steps are discussed.