Pavlovian conditioning

Reversal Without Remapping: What We Can (and Cannot) Conclude About Learned Associations From Training-Induced Behavior Changes

by Marc Coutanche

Coutanche, M. N., & Thompson-Schill, S. L. (2012) - Perspectives on Psychological Science

The “cognitive revolution” in psychology is often framed as a departure from associationist principles rooted in... more The “cognitive revolution” in psychology is often framed as a departure from associationist principles rooted in animal learning research, yet it is clear that these principles have immediate relevance for contemporary questions in cognitive and social psychology. Intuitions about the consequences of learning procedures can easily be misleading, making these principles particularly important. To illustrate this point, we identified recent examples of studies applying a particular learning paradigm—response-reversal training—to the study of three different psychological problems (e.g., why objects in the right side of space are preferred to those in the left in right-handed people). The strategy of each study was to alter a typically encountered contingency once in the laboratory, in order to reverse a hypothesized learned response. Yet, contrary to intuitions, we demonstrate that behavior changes can be observed without the reversal of a prior association. Further, many different associative changes can underlie response reversals. We focus on these examples of response-reversal training, but our broader aim is to help connect the animal learning literature to problems in cognitive and social psychology in an effort to strengthen the inferences that might be drawn about learned associations in these contexts.

Event-related brain responses as correlates of changes in predictive and affective values of conditioned stimuli

by José Javier Campos-Bueno

Sánchez-Nàcher N, Campos-Bueno JJ, Sitges C, Montoya P.
Brain Research 1414, 26 September 2011, Pages 77-84

Previous evidence suggests that the judged predictive strength of one cue may be influenced by the predictive... more Previous evidence suggests that the judged predictive strength of one cue may be influenced by the predictive strengths of other pretrained cues (prediction errors). In the present study, we examined affective ratings and event-related brain responses from 18 healthy participants during an aversive conditioning task in which affective values of previously trained conditioned stimuli were modified through a blocking procedure. The task was divided into two phases. During the training phase, single stimulus A (e.g., red square) was always followed by aversive picture stimuli, while single stimulus B (e.g., yellow square) was signaling the absence of aversive stimulation. During the blocking phase, compound stimuli consisted of the combination of one single trained stimulus (A or B) and one new somatosensory stimulus were also followed by the presence of aversive stimulation. Results indicated that single stimulus A elicited greater ERP amplitudes and theta power, and was rated as more unpleasant than single stimulus B during the training phase. Moreover, single stimulus B elicited greater ERP amplitudes than stimulus A, as well as greater theta power and more unpleasant ratings during the blocking as compared with the training phase. By contrast, no changes in ERP amplitudes and theta power were observed for stimulus A. Our findings provide neurophysiological and behavioral evidence for an increased affective processing of conditioned stimuli when compound stimuli were introduced, but only if the target CS was previously trained to signal the absence of aversive stimulation.

Highlights

► Reinforced (CS+) and unreinforced stimuli (CS−) elicit differences in brain activity in humans. ► Conditioning changes brain activity depending on the discrepancy between past and current reinforcer. ► The discrepancy in the predictive value of conditioned stimuli plays a key role to acquire new information about the relationship among events.

Increment in operant behavior due to a CS associated to ethanol

by Gonzalo Miguez

Quezada, V., Alarcon, D., Miguez, G., & Betancourt, R. (2009). [Increment in operant behavior due to CS associated to ethanol ] Aumento de la conducta operante tras la presentación de estímulos condicionados al efecto del etanol. Revista de Psicología, 18, 65-79.

Previous studies have shown that stimuli associated with drugs can acquire motivational proprieties, which allow them... more Previous studies have shown that stimuli associated with drugs can acquire motivational proprieties, which allow them to control operant behavior for drug consumption/seeking and other types of reward. The current research investigated whether a conditioned stimulus (CS) that has been paired with ethanol is able to disrupt the rate of responding for a reward. A Pavlovian instrumental transfer experiment was conducted with albino rats. The experimental group received paired presentations of the CS (i.e, tone) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) (i.e., the effects of ethanol). Subjects in the control group received random presentations of the US and the CS. The rate of operant behavior for food seeking in both the presence and the absence of the CS was determined for the subjects. The results show that a CS associated with ethanol increased the rate of responding for food.

Using context to resolve temporal ambiguity.

by Gonzalo Miguez

Molet, M., Urcelay, G., Miguez, G., & Miller, R. R. (2010). Using context to resolve temporal ambiguity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 36, 126-136.

Three conditioned lick suppression experiments with rats examined the role of the context in the selection and... more Three conditioned lick suppression experiments with rats examined the role of the context in the selection and integration of independently acquired interval relationships. In Experiment 1, rats were exposed to separate conditioned stimuli 1 and 2 (CS1–CS2) pairings with 2 different interval relationships, each in its own distinctive context, X or Y. The resultant integration was determined by the training context (X or Y) in which unconditioned stimulus (US)–CS2 backward pairings occurred, as assessed in a third neutral context (Z). In Experiment 2, rats experienced CS1–CS2 pairings with 2 different interval relationships as in Experiment 1, and then received US–CS2 pairings in both contexts X and Y. The testing context (i.e., X or Y) determined the resultant integration. In Experiment 3, rats were exposed to CS1–CS2 pairings in 2 different interval relationships each in different phases (i.e., Phases 1 and 2), and then in Phase 3 received US–CS2 pairings. The temporal context of testing (i.e., short or long retention interval) determined the resultant integration. Thus, both physical and temporal context can be used to disambiguate conflicting temporal information.

Animal models of psychopathology: Historical models and the pavlovian contribution

by Gonzalo Miguez

Laborda, M. A., Miguez, G., Polack, C. W., & Miller, R. R. (2012). Modeling psychopathology: Historical animal models and the Pavlovian contribution. Terapia Psicologica, 30, 45-59.

Research using non-human animals as experimental subjects to understand human behavior have been based on the... more Research using non-human animals as experimental subjects to understand human behavior have been based on the Darwinian notion of continuity between species. In this framework, we find analogous models to understand human biology and behavior in nonhuman species. In the scientific study of psychology, animal models have proven to be an effective tool for understanding both normal and abnormal human behaviors. In the present review, we discuss how animal models have been used in investigating psychopathology. After reviewing three historical animal models of specific psychopathologies, we discuss how phenomena discovered while studying Pavlovian conditioning have contributed to our understanding of the etiology and maintenance of human psychopathology, how the Pavlovian tradition has contributed to the development of better ways to treat these behavioral disorders, and more generally, how Pavlovian phenomena are implicated in almost all interactions between an organism and its environment.

Effects of extinction in multiple contexts on the renewal of associative tolerance to ethanol

by Gonzalo Miguez

Betancourt, R., Corada, L., Dominichetti, J., Laborda, M., Martinez, G., & Miguez, G. (2008). [Effects of extinction in multiple contexts on the renewal of associative tolerance to ethanol] Efecto de la extinción en múltiples contextos en la renovación de la tolerancia asociativa al etanol. Psicothema, 20, 285-289.

The Pavlovian analysis of drug tolerance describes how the contexts of drug administration participate in the... more The Pavlovian analysis of drug tolerance describes how the contexts of drug administration participate in the elicitation of compensatory conditioned responses that are, at least partly, responsible for tolerance. Findings indicate that if an association is acquired in one context and extinguished in another one, when exposing the subjects to the acquisition context, renewal of the conditioned response will take place. Ambiguous evidence exists about whether or not this effect diminishes when extinguishing the association in multiple contexts. This investigation evaluates the existence of the phenomenon of renewal of tolerance to ethanol, and whether it diminishes by the extinction in multiple contexts. Evidence of renewal of tolerance to ethanol in rats was found, but no diminution was observed when extinguishing in multiple contexts.

Introduction to reward processing

by Krishna Prasad Miyapuram

Ph.D. Thesis Chapter, University of Cambridge, 2008

Bidirectional instrumental conditioning

by José Javier Campos-Bueno

Dickinson A, Campos J, Varga ZI, Balleine B. Q J Exp Psychol B. 1996 Nov;49(4):289-306. University of Cambridge, U.K.

DOI:10.1080/713932637

Three experiments examined bidirectional instrumental conditioning by training hungry rats to push a pole in one... more Three experiments examined bidirectional instrumental conditioning by training hungry rats to push a pole in one direction for food pellets and in the other for either a sugar or a starch solution. In the first study we examined whether the animals learned about the action-reinforcer relations using a specific satiety procedure. Prefeeding one type of reinforcer before an extinction test selectively depressed the performance of the action that had been paired with this reinforcer during training. The second experiment investigated the sensitivity of the bidirectional actions to variations in the action-reinforcer contingencies. When the instrumental contingency was degraded by presenting unpaired reinforcers, the animals pushed less in the direction that was paired with the reinforcer type that was the same as the non-contiguous one. A third study revealed that increasing the rate of reinforcement for one action enhanced its rate of performance without significantly affecting the performance of the other action. We conclude that the effects of reinforcer devaluation, the action-outcome contingency, and the rate of reinforcement are not mediated by Pavlovian associations between the manipulandum and the reinforcer.

Preventing Recovery From Extinction and Relapse: A Product of Current Retrieval Cues and Memory Strengths

by Mario A. Laborda

Miller, R. R., & Laborda, M. A. (2011). Preventing recovery from extinction and relapse: A product of current retrieval cues and memory strengths. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20, 325–329.

When a cue (X) and an outcome are paired, X comes to elicit responding similar to that elicited by the outcome. This... more When a cue (X) and an outcome are paired, X comes to elicit responding similar to that elicited by the outcome. This potential
is lessened if X is later presented by itself (i.e., experimental extinction). Extinction is interesting both for theoretical reasons
and because it is a model for exposure therapy, which is used to treat numerous psychological disorders. Conventionally,
extinction has been viewed as an isolated phenomenon unrelated to other response-attenuating treatments, whereas it is
actually but one of several instances of associative interference that reduce conditioned responding. Although much has been
learned about extinction from direct study, the larger associative-interference literature provides additional insight. Here we view extinction as new learning that is inconsistent with previously acquired knowledge (i.e., retroactive outcome interference). We provide an account of whether the acquisition or extinction memory will be expressed depending on the relative strengths of these two memories and the relative efficacies of their respective retrieval cues.

I. P. Pavlov: 100 años de investigación del aprendizaje asociativo

by German Gutierrez

Gutiérrez, G. (2005). Universitas Psychologica, 4 (2), 251-255.

Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Activates a Common Pattern of Neurons in the Lateral Amygdala of Individual Brains

by Hadley Bergstrom

Contrasting AAC and ABC renewal: the role of context associations

by Mario A. Laborda

Laborda, M. A., Witnauer, J. E., & Miller, R. R. (2011). Contrasting AAC and ABC renewal: The role of contexts associations. Learning & Behavior, 39, 46–56.

Rats were used in a lick suppression preparation to assess the contribution of conditioned-stimulus (CS)–context and... more Rats were used in a lick suppression preparation to assess the contribution of conditioned-stimulus (CS)–context and context–unconditioned-stimulus (US) associations to experimental extinction. Experiment 1 investigated whether strengthening the CS–acquisition context association enhances extinction by determining whether stronger extinction is observed when CS-alone trials (i.e., extinction treatment) are administered in the acquisition context (AAC renewal), relative to a context that is neutral with respect to the US (ABC renewal). Less recovery of responding to the CS was observed in the former than in the latter case, extending the finding that AAC renewal is weaker than ABC renewal to our lick suppression preparation. Experiment 2 assessed the contribution of the acquisition context–US association to extinction of a CS by examining the effect of postextinction exposure to the acquisition context on responding to the extinguished CS. This manipulation enhanced responding to the extinguished CS in AAC, but not ABC, renewal. Experiment 3 addressed the contribution of the CS–acquisition context association by examining the potential of a neutral stimulus, presented in compound with the target CS during extinction treatment, to overshadow the CS–acquisition context association. This manipulation enhanced responding to the extinguished CS in AAC, but not ABC, renewal. The results stress the important role of contextual association in extinction and renewal.

S-R Associations, Their Extinction, and Recovery in an Animal Model of Anxiety: A New Associative Account of Phobias Without Recall of Original Trauma

by Mario A. Laborda

Laborda, M. A., & Miller, R. R. (2011). S–R associations, their extinction, and recovery: A new associative account of phobias without recall of original trauma. Behavior Therapy, 42, 153-169.

Associative accounts of the etiology of phobias have been criticized because of numerous cases of phobias in which the... more Associative accounts of the etiology of phobias have been criticized because of numerous cases of phobias in which the client does not remember a relevant traumatic event (i.e., Pavlovian conditioning trial), instructions, or vicarious experience with the phobic object. In three lick suppression experiments with rats as subjects, we modeled an associative account of such fears. Experiment 1 assessed stimulus-response (S-R) associations in first-order fear conditioning. After behaviorally complete devaluation of the unconditioned stimulus, the target stimulus still produced strong conditioned responses, suggesting that an S-R association had been formed and that this association was not significantly affected when the outcome was devalued through unsignaled presentations of the unconditioned stimulus. Experiments 2 and 3 examined extinction and recovery of S-R associations.
Experiment 2 showed that extinguished S-R associations returned when testing occurred outside of the extinction context (i.e., renewal) and Experiment 3 found that a long delay between extinction and testing also produced a return of the extinguished S-R associations (i.e., spontaneous recovery). These experiments suggest that fears for which people cannot recall a cause are explicable in an associative framework, and indicate that those fears are susceptible to relapse after extinction treatment just like stimulus outcome (S-O) associations.