Alwood 340 Exam 2 set

S-S learning

The conditioned stimulus activates a mental representation of the unconditioned stimulus, meaning learning occurs between stimuli.

S-R learning

The conditioned stimulus becomes directly linked to the response so the CS triggers the CR without activating a representation of the US.

CS (Conditioned Stimulus)

A previously neutral stimulus that comes to predict the unconditioned stimulus through learning.

US (Unconditioned Stimulus)

A stimulus that naturally elicits a response without prior learning.

UR (Unconditioned Response)

The reflexive response produced by the unconditioned stimulus.

CR (Conditioned Response)

The learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus after conditioning.

Facilitation

The CS enhances or prepares the response to the US.

Diminution

The CS reduces the magnitude of the response normally elicited by the US.

CR substitution

The conditioned response mimics the unconditioned response.

Opponent-like CR

The conditioned response is opposite the unconditioned response.

Autoshaping

A conditioned stimulus predicting food automatically elicits a response directed toward the CS itself (e.g., pigeons peck a key light paired with grain).

Conditioned emotional response (CER)

A Pavlovian conditioning paradigm where a CS associated with shock suppresses ongoing behavior (e.g., lever pressing).

Eyeblink conditioning

Classical conditioning paradigm where a CS predicts an air puff to the eye causing a blink.

Conditioned taste aversion

Learning in which a taste becomes associated with illness and is avoided even after long delays.

Little Albert experiment

Demonstrated conditioned fear by pairing a white rat with a loud noise.

McCollough Effect

A perceptual conditioning effect where exposure to colored gratings alters later color perception.

Delay conditioning

The CS begins before the US and overlaps with it.

Trace conditioning

A form of classical conditioning in which the CS ends before the US begins, requiring the organism to maintain a memory trace of the CS during the gap.

Simultaneous conditioning

The CS and US occur at the same time.

Backward conditioning

The US occurs before the CS.

Trace conditioning brain region

Requires the hippocampus because the organism must maintain a memory trace of the CS during the gap.

Delay eyeblink conditioning brain circuit

Primarily mediated by cerebellar circuits involved in the eyeblink reflex pathway.

Biological constraints

Evolutionary predispositions that make certain stimulus-outcome associations easier or harder to learn.

Garcia experiment

Showed rats easily associate taste with illness but not taste with shock, demonstrating biological constraints.

Preparedness

The evolutionary tendency to learn certain associations more readily than others.

US devaluation technique

Method used to determine whether learning is S-S or S-R by reducing the value of the US after conditioning.

Evidence for S-S learning

If the US is devalued and the conditioned response decreases, the organism must represent the US.

Evidence for S-R learning

If the US is devalued but the conditioned response remains unchanged, the CS directly triggers the response.

R-O association

A response-outcome relationship characteristic of instrumental learning.

Pavlovian association

A stimulus-stimulus relationship independent of behavior.

Master-Yoke design

Experimental design used to determine whether behavior is driven by instrumental or Pavlovian learning.

Master group

The subject's behavior determines whether the outcome occurs.

Yoked group

Receives the same pattern of stimuli as the master but has no control over outcomes.

Instrumental learning prediction

In a master-yoke design, only the master group learns because behavior controls the outcome.

Pavlovian learning prediction

Both master and yoked groups show learning because behavior does not control the outcome.

Contiguity theory

The idea that learning occurs when CS and US occur close together in time.

Challenge to contiguity theory

Taste aversion learning occurs even when many hours separate the taste and illness.

Overshadowing

When two CSs are paired with a US simultaneously, the more salient CS acquires stronger associative strength while the less salient CS acquires weaker learning.

Blocking

Prior conditioning to one CS prevents learning about a new CS because the US is already fully predicted.

CS-US contingency

The statistical relationship between the presence of a CS and the probability of the US.

Excitatory conditioning

P(US | CS) is greater than P(US | no CS).

Conditioned inhibition

A stimulus that signals the absence of the US and acquires negative associative strength when paired with an excitatory CS.

No learning contingency

P(US | CS) equals P(US | no CS).

Prediction error

The difference between the expected value of an outcome and the actual outcome.

Positive prediction error

The outcome is better than expected.

Negative prediction error

The outcome is worse than expected.

Rescorla-Wagner model

A mathematical model describing how associative strength changes during conditioning based on prediction error.

Lambda (λ)

The maximum associative strength supported by the US.

Associative strength (V)

The strength of the association between a CS and the US.

Total associative strength (VT)

The sum of associative strengths of all CSs present on a trial.

Alpha (α)

The salience or learning rate parameter for the CS.

Beta (β)

The learning rate parameter for the US.

Rescorla-Wagner equation

ΔV = αβ(λ − VT).

Meaning of (λ − VT)

The prediction error representing the difference between expected and actual US.

Additivity rule

The total associative strength of compound stimuli equals the sum of the strengths of each component stimulus.

Blocking explanation in Rescorla-Wagner

If VT equals λ, prediction error is zero and no new learning occurs.

Overshadowing explanation in Rescorla-Wagner

More salient stimuli gain more associative strength than less salient stimuli.

US pre-exposure effect

Prior exposure to the US slows later conditioning to a CS because the context predicts the US.

Over-expectation effect

Combining two well-trained CSs causes associative strength to decrease because the US is overpredicted.

Latent inhibition

Prior exposure to a CS alone reduces later conditioning to that CS.

Synaptic plasticity

Long-lasting changes in synaptic strength that support learning and memory.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A strengthening of synaptic connections following high-frequency stimulation.

Long-Term Depression (LTD)

A weakening of synaptic connections following low-frequency stimulation.

Cooperativity (LTP)

Two moderate synaptic inputs occurring together can produce LTP.

Associativity (LTP)

A weak input can undergo LTP when paired with a strong input onto the same neuron.

Purpose of LTD

Prevents neural networks from becoming saturated with strong synapses.

Single-cell recording

Method that measures electrical activity of individual neurons.

Patch clamp

Technique measuring electrical currents through ion channels in neurons.

Immediate early genes (e.g., cFOS)

Markers used to detect neural activation after learning.

fMRI

Method used to measure regional brain activity through changes in blood flow.

Lesion methods

Destroy specific brain regions to determine their role in behavior.

Temporary lesion methods

Use drugs or reversible techniques to temporarily inactivate brain regions.

Optogenetics

Method using genetically modified neurons that can be activated with light.

DREADDs

Genetically engineered receptors that allow neurons to be controlled with otherwise inert drugs.

Aplysia conditioning model

Invertebrate model used to study synaptic mechanisms of classical conditioning.

Key finding from Aplysia research

Classical conditioning produces changes at the synaptic level.

Eyeblink conditioning brain structure

The cerebellum.

Amygdala function

Processes fear and emotional learning.

Hippocampus function

Involved in contextual learning, spatial memory, and trace conditioning.

Implicit learning

Learning that occurs without conscious awareness.

Explicit learning

Learning that requires conscious awareness and cognitive mediation.

Example of implicit learning

Delay eyeblink conditioning.

Example of explicit learning

Trace eyeblink conditioning.

Cognitive mediation

Mental processes occur between stimulus and response rather than simple S-R associations.

Mediated acquisition

Learning about a stimulus indirectly through associations with another stimulus.

Mediated extinction

Extinction occurring indirectly through associations with another stimulus.

Spatial learning

Learning about the spatial environment and locations of important stimuli.

Radial arm maze

Task used to study spatial memory where animals remember which arms contain rewards.

Evidence from radial arm maze

Animals remember spatial locations of previously rewarded arms.

Effect of rotating maze cues

Performance declines because spatial memory relies on environmental cues.

Morris water maze

Task where animals must locate a hidden platform in water using spatial cues.

Hippocampus role in Morris water maze

Required for forming spatial maps of the environment.

Strategy without hippocampus in Morris water maze

Animals rely on visible cues rather than spatial mapping.

Context conditioning

Learning where environmental context predicts the US.

Role of hippocampus in context conditioning

Essential for encoding contextual representations.

Effect of immediate hippocampal lesion

Context memory is disrupted.

Effect of delayed hippocampal lesion

Context memory remains intact due to consolidation in cortex.

Memory consolidation

Process where memories gradually become independent of the hippocampus.

Configural relations

Learning where the meaning of a stimulus depends on its combination with other stimuli.

Linearly separable problem

Stimuli independently predict outcomes.