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

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

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

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

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

Interrupción del efecto de inhibición latente por la administración de Mk-801

Los receptores -metil-D-aspartato (NMDA) parecen estar implicados en el retraso en la adquisición de una asociación pavloviana tras la preexposición sin consecuencias al que se va a convertir en estímulo condicionado, efecto al que se suele denominar Inhibición Latente (IL). Concretamente, la administración de compuestos antagonistas en la fase de preexposición o en las fases de preexposición y condicionamiento produce un efecto disruptivo sobre la expresión de la IL cuando se utiliza un procedimiento de aversión condicionada al sabor. En este trabajo describimos tres experimentos que replican el efecto del MK-801 sobre la IL (Experimento 1) y que demuestran la persistencia de la influencia de la droga independientemente del número de ensayos de preexposición (Experimento 2), o de la intensidad del EC empleado (Experimento 3). Los resultados se interpretan en relación a los modelos psicológicos y farmacológicos relacionados con la investigación y el tratamiento clínico de diversos desordenes neurocognitivos

El diseño de los laboratorios de Cornell y Leningrado y su relación con las visiones epistémicas de Titchener y Pavlov

En este trabajo, presentamos una primera aproximación al estudio del diseño de los laboratorios psicológicos. Para cumplir este objetivo, hemos seleccionado dos laboratorios clásicos. En primer lugar analizaremos el Laboratorio que Titchener dirigió en Cornell. De acuerdo con sus ideas teóricas, Titchener asignó diferentes habitaciones al estudio de las distintas clases de sensaciones, incluyendo a los procesos que se relacionaban con la conciencia afectiva. En segundo lugar, examinaremos la “Torre del silencio” de Pavlov. En este último caso, Pavlov mandó construir un tipo de laboratorio completamente nuevo; un lugar en el que los sujetos experimentales estuvieran aislados de cualquier estímulo, excepto aquéllos que probaba el experimentador. De esta forma, cada uno de estos laboratorios se construyó teniendo en cuenta las diferentes ideas teóricas de Titchener y Pavlov.This paper presents a first approach to the study of the design of psychology laboratories. For this purpose, we have selected two classical laboratories. The first is Titchener’s Laboratory at Cornell. In accordance with his theoretical views, Titchener allocated different rooms to the study of different kinds of sensations, including processes associated with affective consciousness. The second laboratory is Pavlov’s “Tower of Silence”. Pavlov built an entirely new type of laboratory, a place where experimental subjects would be totally isolated from every stimulus except those that the experimenter was testing. So the design of these laboratories reflected the diverse theoretical views of their creators

Disentangling the effects of context change and context familiarity on Latent Inhibition with a Conditioned Taste Aversion procedure

Contextual specificity of Latent Inhibition (LI) has been demonstrated using an ample range of experimental procedures. Context dependence has not been consistently obtained, however, when LI has been induced using a Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA) procedure. This paper presents two experiments designed to analyze whether the context plays the same role in LI with a CTA paradigm as compared to other Pavlovian techniques. Experiment 1 compared the effect on LI of a context change between the conditioning and test stages as a function of whether the testing context was new or the animals’ home cage. The results of this experiment showed that using the animals’ home cage as context at testing enhanced the expression of LI. Experiment 2 manipulated context novelty and familiarity beforehand to introduce different context changes. The results indicate that, as compared to the no context change condition, the strength of LI increased when the conditioning context was different from that of preexposure and testing (ABA). Conversely, a context change from preexposure to conditioning/test stages (ABB) disrupted LI, but only when the animals had been pre-familiarized with the new context introduced at conditioning. These results are similar to those obtained with other conditioning procedures different from CTA.Junta de Andalucia SEJ-02618Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2009-7536Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2012-3207