Learning, Conditioning, and Addiction

Flashcards for lecture notes on learning, classical conditioning, addiction, and neurobiology of nicotine.

Learning

Acquisition, maintenance, and change of an organism's behavior.

Associative Learning

Learning to associate two stimuli, leading to a change in behavior or response.

Non-associative Learning

Changes in behavior in response to a single stimulus, without involving any association with another stimulus or consequence.

Habituation

Decrease in responses/building tolerance.

Sensitization

Enhanced response – an increase in responsiveness or sensitivity to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

Classical Conditioning

A neutral stimulus becomes associated with a naturally occurring stimulus, leading to a learned response. CS-US is required.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Neutral stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Biological strong stimulus that elicits a UR.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Behavior caused by US without prior training.

Contiguity of Stimuli

When stimuli or events occur near in time they become similar in function.

Interoceptive Learning

Developing awareness of internal bodily sensations and connecting them to emotions, actions, and overall well-being.

Interoceptive State

State where you acquire different properties.

Spontaneous Recovery

Reemergence of previously established and extinguished CR.

Stimulus Generalization

Organism shows CR to CS without training.

Stimulus Discrimination

Organism shows CR to one stimulus but not all similar events or stimuli.

PFC (Prefrontal Cortex)

Executive function.

NAc (Nucleus Accumbens)

Rewards.

Hippocampus

Memory.

VTA (Ventral Tegmental Area)

DA and reward.

Striatum (Caudate Putamen)

Learning/reward.

cFOS

Protein that acts as a marker of recent brain activity.

Addiction

Chronic disease of compulsive drug taking.

Homeostasis

Baseline state; stable internal environment despite changes in the external environment.

Allostasis

A process to get back to homeostasis.

Opponent Process Theory

Initial drug exposure evokes biological responses (A process) that is responsible for mood evaluation and euphoria

HPA Axis

Your body's stress system: Hypothalamus -> Pituitary gland -> Adrenal glands -> Cortisol

Mu (MOR)

Blocking this stops craving.