Prepulse inhibition modulation by contextual conditioning of dopaminergic activity

When a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a drug, an association is established between them that can induce two different responses: either an opponent response that counteracts the effect of the drug, or a response thatis similar to thatinduced by the drug. In this paper, we focus on the analysis ofthe associations that can be established between the contextual cues and the administration of dopamine agonists or antagonists. Our hypothesis suggests that repeated administration of drugs that modulate dopaminergic activity in the presence of a specific context leads to the establishment of an association that subsequently results in a conditioned response to the context that is similar to that induced by the drug. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two experiments that revealed that contextual cues acquired the property to modulate pre-pulse inhibition by prior pairings of such context with the dopamine antagonist haloperidol (Experiment 1), and with the dopamine agonist d-amphetamine (Experiment 2). The implications of these results are discussed both at a theoretical level, and attending to the possibilities that could involve the use of context cues for the therapeutic administration of dopaminergic drugs.Junta de Andalucía SEJ-02618Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2012-3207

Contextual control of flavor neophobia

The role of context in the retrieval of learned information has been widely analyzed in the associative learning domain. However, evidence about the effect of context on flavor memory retrieval is more limited. We have carried out four experiments with rats testing for possible interactions between neophobia habituation and the context in which flavors are presented, by manipulating prior experience with contexts. Our results point to the relevance of context familiarity for the establishment and recovery of a safe taste memory trace. More specifically, the use of the animals' home cages as experimental context favored neophobia habituation (Experiments 1A and 2), reduced dopamine levels induced by administration of the dopamine D1-like receptor antagonist SCH-23390 disrupted neophobia habituation when tested in presence of a new context (Experiment 1B), and testing in the animal's home cage increases the amount of flavor consumed, even when such flavor had a previous history of aversive conditioning (Experiment 3). We propose that exploring context without aversive consequences generates a safe memory trace of such context that becomes in the basis of increased flavor consumption

Temporal factors modulate haloperidol-induced conditioned catalepsy

Repeated pairings of a neutral context and the effects of haloperidol give rise to conditioned catalepsy when the context is subsequently presented in a drug-free test. In order to confirm whether this response is based on Pavlovian processes, we conducted two experiments involving two manipulations that affect conditioning intensity in classical conditioning procedures: time of joint exposure to the conditioned and the unconditioned stimulus, and the length of the inter-stimulus interval (ISI). The results revealed that both an increase in the length of context-drug pairings during conditioning and a reduced ISI between drug administration and context exposure increased conditioned catalepsy. These results are discussed in terms of the temporal peculiarities of those procedures that involve drugs as the unconditioned stimulus along with the role of Pavlovian conditioning in context-dependent catalepsy.Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-103982RBC42/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

Pavlov in America: A Heterodox Approach to the Study of his Influence

En el presente trabajo se realiza un análisis crítico de la influencia de Pavlov que va más allá de su visión convencional: aquélla que reduce su influencia en la psicología americana al conductismo de Watson y Hull. Para entender la naturaleza de la influencia del fisiólogo ruso en la psicología norteamericana proponemos distinguir entre tres sentidos de la misma: 1) el simbólico, al representar un modelo de la posibilidad de construir una psicología objetiva; 2) el metodológico, por la importancia de la técnica de los reflejos condicionales; 3) el teórico, que se deriva de su teoría de la actividad nerviosa superior. Esta perspectiva nos permite sugerir que la mayor parte de la influencia de Pavlov sobre el conductismo fue de carácter simbólico y metodológico, aunque la influencia metodológica también alcanzó a autores que no pertenecieron a las tradiciones conductistas como fue el caso de Mateer. En lo que concierne a la influencia teórica, nuestro trabajo propone que es más visible en autores como Gantt y Liddell, o en otros menos conocidos como Boldirev, director de un laboratorio pavloviano en el Battle Creek Sanitarium de Michigan. El caso de Gantt nos parece de especial interés porque además de sus importantes contribuciones, jugó un papel esencial en la fundación de la Pavlovian Society y de la revista Conditional Reflex. En conclusión, lo que nuestro trabajo propone es que para entender la naturaleza de la influencia de Pavlov en la psicología norteamericana hay que tener muy presentes las propias características de esa psicología: sus intereses pragmáticos, su rigurosidad metodológica, los sistemas teóricos neoconductistas dominantes y los cambios que se fueron produciendo tras la segunda guerra mundial.This work presents a critical analysis of Pavlov’s influence that goes beyond the conventional view: that which reduces his influence in American psychology to the behaviorism of Watson and Hull. In order to understand the nature of the Russian physiologist’s influence in American psychology, we propose a distinction between three approaches to it: 1) the symbolic approach, on representing a model of the possibility of constructing an objective psychology; 2) the methodological approach, given the importance of the technique of conditional reflexes; and 3) the theoretical approach, which is derived from his theory of higher nervous activity. This perspective permits us to suggest that most of Pavlov’s influence on behaviorism was of a symbolic and methodological nature—though the methodological influence also reached other authors that did not belong to the behaviorist traditions, as was the case of Mateer. As far as the theoretical influence is concerned, our work proposes that it is more visible in authors such as Gantt and Liddell, or even in authors such as Boldirev, Director of the Pavlovian Laboratory at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. The case of Gantt is especially interesting because, in addition to his important contributions, he played an essential role in the foundation of the Pavlovian Society, and the journal Conditional Reflex. What our work proposes is that to understand the nature of Pavlov’s influence in American psychology it is necessary to take into account the very characteristics of that psychology: its pragmatic interests, its methodological rigor, the dominant systems of neo-behavioral theory and the changes that occurred after the Second World War

Food and water deprivation disrupts latent inhibition with an auditory fear conditioning procedure

Latent inhibition (LI), operationally defined as the reduced conditioned response to a stimulus that has been preexposed before conditioning, seems to be determined by the interaction of different processes that includes attentional, associative, memory, motivational, and emotional factors. In this paper we focused on the role of deprivation level on LI intensity using an auditory fear conditioning procedure with rats. LI was observed when the animals were non-deprived, but it was disrupted when the rats were water- or food-deprived. We propose that deprivation induced an increase in attention to the tobe-CS, and, as a result, LI was disrupted in deprived animals. The implications ofthe results for the current interpretations of LI are also discussed.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2012-3207

Especificidad contextual de la inhibición latente en palomas (Columba livia): Atenuación del efecto de retraso en contextos familiares

En el presente artículo se describe un experimento, llevado a cabo con palomas (Columba livia) y con un procedimiento de supresión condicionada, diseñado para determinar si la atenuación de la Inhibición Latente, tras un cambio contextual entre las fases de pre-exposición y de prueba, se debe a un proceso de inhibición externa, tal y como propone la Teoría de la Atención Condicionada (Lubow y cols. 1981), o al establecimiento de una asociación en el almacén de memoria a largo plazo de los sujetos entre las claves contextuales en las que tiene lugar la pre-exposición y el estímulo pre-expuesto (Wagner, 1976, 1978). Pretendemos comprobar, de esta forma, si es el cambio contextual en sí mismo, el responsable de la atenuación de la Inhibición Latente. Los resultados muestran que, aparte de conseguir la generalización del fenómeno que nos ocupa a las palomas, es probablemente el cambio contextual en sí mismo el causante de la atenuación de la Inhibición Latente

Startle response and prepulse inhibition modulation by positive- and negative-induced affect

The startle response, a set of reflex behaviours intended to prepare the organism to face a potentially threatening stimulus, can be modulated by several factors as, for example, changes in affective state, or previous presentation of a weak stimulus (a phenomenon termed Pre-Pulse Inhibition [PPI]). In this paper we analyse whether the induction of positive or negative affective states in the participants modulates the startle response and the PPI phenomenon. The results revealed a decrease of the startle response and an increase of the PPI effect when registered while the participants were exposed to pleasant images (Experiment 1), and an increase of the startle response and of the PPI effect when they were exposed to a video-clip of unpleasant content (Experiment 2). These data are interpreted considering that changes in affective states correlate with changes in the startle reflex intensity, but changes in PPI might be the result of an attentional processMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad de España PSI2012-32077Junta de Andalucía SEJ-0261

Efecto de un intervalo de retención entre la pre-exposición y el condicionamiento sobre la inhibición latente en humanos con un procedimiento de condicionamiento palpebral

El fenómeno de la inhibición latente se refiere al retraso que se observa cuando se presenta repetidamente sin consecuencias un estímulo que va a ser posteriormente condicionado. En este trabajo empleamos un procedimiento de condicionamiento palpebral para analizar la inhibición latente en participantes humanos. El Experimento 1 reveló que el procedimiento empleado era adecuado para reproducir el efecto de inhibición latente. En el Experimento 2, la introducción de un intervalo de tres minutos entre las fases de pre-exposición y condicionamiento dio lugar a la atenuación de la inhibición latente. Estos resultados contribuyen a la identificación de los mecanismos que participan en la pre-exposición y posterior condicionamiento de un estímulo, aspectos particularmente importantes si tenemos en cuenta que el fenómeno de la inhibición latente ha sido utilizado repetidamente como un instrumento para analizar el curso del proceso atencional tanto en poblaciones normales como con determinadas psicopatologías.Latent inhibition, retarded learning after pre-exposure to the to-be-conditioned stimulus, was examined using a blink conditioned procedure in humans. Experiment 1 showed that the procedure is suited to inducing the latent inhibition effect. In Experiment 2, the introduction of a 3-minute interval between pre-exposure and conditioning phases attenuated latent inhibition. These results contribute to identify the mechanisms involved in pre-exposure and subsequent conditioning of a stimulus, which is particularly important if we bear in mind that latent inhibition has been used repeatedly as an instrument to analyse the course of attentional processes in normal and pathological populations

La culminación teórica del proyecto inicial de B. F. Skinner (1939-1938): la metáfora hidráulica del condicionamiento

La conducta de los organismos de B.F. Skinner ha sido una de las obras más influyentes en la psicología contemporánea. El libro está compuesto de distintos experimentos sobre diferentes temas y de una teoría que intentó explicar los resultados: el modelo de la reserva del reflejo. En el presente trabajo, nos proponemos mostrar que dicho sistema teórico poseía una estructura formal idéntica a la de otras teorías del aprendizaje de su época. A pesar de ello, Skinner intentó evitar en la construcción de su modelo algunos de los problemas que criticó en el caso de las teorías de Hull o Tolman. Sin embargo, el modelo no sobrevivió. Se propone una explicación tentativa de las razones que llevaron a su desaparición basada en los propios puntos de vista empíricos y teóricos de Skinner.The Behavior of Organism by B.F. Skinner is one of the most influential works in contemporary psychology. The book consists of a series of experiments on different topics and theoretical system through which Skinner tried to give sense to all those results: the reflex reserve model. In the present paper we try to show that such model had an identical formal structure to other learning theories of Skinner’s time. In spite of this, Skinner, while constructing his model, tried to avoid some of the problems he criticized in Hull or Tolman’s theories. However, the reflex reserve model did not survive. Taking into account empirical and theoretical Skinner’s point of view, a tentative explanation is proposed with respect to possible reasons explaining the disappearance