04 19 2012 I Autoshaping sign tracking A Pigeons in a box will peck at a light which comes on to indicate the presence of food B Pavlovian contingency between presentation of a CS and delivery of an appetitive US may lead to development of conditioned response CR directed at the CS 1 The CS is a sign that the US is about to occur occurs only with CSs that are localized in space spot of light for the pigeon C Examples 1 Light key CS food US peck key light CS 2 Insert lever CS food US lick bite chew lever 3 Ball bearing CS food US pick up and mouth ball bearing a Ball bearing would roll through the cage which would be followed by the presence of food D The form of the CR in sign tracking 1 When the US is water pigeons peck with a closed beak 2 Alternately when the US is food pigeons peck with an open beak E Long box sign tracking in appetitive conditioning 1 The pigeon will walk away from the food tray to peck the light even if pecking the light doesn t influence the presence of food a Also works with access to female pigeons 2 Indicates how automated the behavior becomes 3 Conditioning is thought to be imposed on the feeding behavioral system a The stimulus influences the nature of the responses that become conditioned F Sign tracking and drug addiction 1 There is variation in species between sign trackers and goal trackers 2 Some individuals of a species are always sign trackers goal trackers or a mix a Those who are sign trackers are more likely to become addicted to drugs b Has to do with the dopamine system in the individual brain II Taste aversion A Give a rat a food that it likes particularly a novel flavor induce sickness or nausea the rat will associate the food with the sickness and will avoid the food in the future 1 Rats will make this association even if sickness is induced 6 or so hours later a Less effect but still present at 12 hours b No impact at 24 hours B Traits 1 Can withstand much longer CS US intervals and still induce learning 2 Possible with just one trial C Human examples 1 Eat a few cheeseburgers drink too much tequila nausea around midnight even the smell of McDonald s brings nausea D Use in control of predators which attack our livestock III Supernormal Stimuli foods A Develop when flavors are repeatedly paired with calories 1 Increases body weight set point a Or push it up against the ceiling 2 Set point determines appetite a If your set point is rising so does your appetite 3 Ditto foods highly palatable strong flavors calorie dense B Breaking these associations reduces your set point reduces your diet 1 Consume bland foods 2 Consume flavorless calories in the absence of tastes and smells a If flavor is the CS and calories are the US un pair those two b In the absence of all flavor hours away from any food or smells consume a small amount of extra light olive oil or something which contains flavorless calories decreased appetite IV Common classical conditioning procedures A Short delayed conditioning the onset of the US is delayed until shortly after the onset of the CS 1 The US can start during the CS or exactly at the end either counts 2 Creates very fast conditioning reliable B Long delayed conditioning the onset of the US is delayed until a relatively long time after the onset of the CS but the CS is present for that entire time C Trace conditioning there is a gap between the termination of the CS and the onset of the US D Simultaneous conditioning CS and US are presented together 1 Actually doesn t develop very good conditioning E Backward conditioning US first then CS 1 Also doesn t produce very good conditioning F Explicitly un paired CS and US are presented so far apart in time as to not create any association For every CS US pair there s an optimal CS US interval which rests on a inverted U shaped curve V Why does the CS elicit the CR A Pavlovian conditioning learning CS US association B CS sensitization effect increase in responsiveness due to repeated exposure to the CS C Pseudo conditioning US sensitization effect increase in responsiveness due to repeated exposure to the US 1 With rats tone presented with a shock may not have been necessary Perhaps the shock alone has sensitized the rat and it would have displayed the fear reaction to the tone even if the two have never been paired any novel stimulus would induce a fear response in a sensitized rat VI Pavlovian control conditions A Accuisition group 1 Get the CS US treatment 2 Tested on the CR 3 To demonstrate associative learning B CS only 1 Get only the CS 2 Tested on the CR 3 Used to rule out CS sensitization C US only 1 Get US only 2 Tested on CR 3 Used to rule out pseudoconditioning D Unpaired group 1 Get CS US in an unpaired fashion 2 Tested on the CR 3 Used to rule out pseudoconditioning as well as CS sensitization a Best for use as a control group E Backward group 1 Get US then CS 2 Tested on the CR 3 Used to rule out pseudoconditioning as well as CS sensitization a Not often used because in rare cases backward conditioning can create association VII Safety signals A People with anxiety disorders sometimes experience panic attacks therapy may include providing the patient with a safety signal or cue 1 This signal indicated to the subject that he she will be safe for a period of time i e blanket for a kid B Conditioned inhibition 1 Discovered by Pavlov 2 A conditioned inhibitor is a stimulus that acquires the ability to inhibit the conditioned response 3 A vs AX example a Vending machine A excitatory stimulus b Vending machine w an Out of Order sign AX inhibitory stimulus 4 Summation test a Is the inhibitory stimulus X generalizable to a different excitatory stimulus i Example restroom with an Out of Order sign on it ii In this example yes 5 Retardation test 6 Bi directional response