Scholarship in Review 86(1)

Scholarship in Review was a magazine highlighting research and scholarly activities at Central Washington University, published by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/scholarship_in_review/1002/thumbnail.jp

Previous experience disrupts d-amphetamine-induced stereotypic diving in rats

Rats given d-amphetamine and placed in a tank of water repeatedly dive towards the bottom of the tank. Two experiments investigated this stereotypy. The first established a dose-response function for the stereotypy and the second showed that experience with the apparatus prior to drug administration disrupted the stereotypy. The latter result is consistent with the findings of previous work and thus provides a degree of generality for the role of experience interacting with CNS drugs to induce stereotypies

Complete amnesia induced by ECS and complete recovery of memory following reinstatement treatment

Amnesia of fear conditioning in ECS animals was found to be equal to animals not conditioned. However, memory was shown to recover in ECS animals when different combinations of conditioning cues were presented 96 hr after training. The degree of memory recovered in ECS animals appeared to be a function of the type of reinstatement treatment given with apparent complete recovery obtained under one condition. Modification of retention by the reinstatement procedures was restricted to animals conditioned and made amnesic by ECS. These results are interpreted as indicating that ECS produces amnesia by interfering with memory retrieval processes and that the degree of memory recovered in ECS animals is a function of the type of reinstatement procedure used and the time at which it is administered

The amnesia gradient: inadequate as evidence for a memory consolidation process

Rats were conditioned to fear a tone paired with shock to the feet. Retention tests 4 days later showed that consolidation had occurred. Other animals were not tested for retention at 4 days, but the tone was presented in order to reactivate their memories of the conditioning. An amnesia gradient was generated by low-intensity electrical stimulation of the amygdaloid complex at different intervals after the tone, but stimulation was without effect either when given to rats not previously conditioned or when given to conditioned rats without preceding memory reactivation. Thus, stimulation of the amygdaloid complex can can affect memory retrieval. Moreover, the data call into question the assumption that an amnesia gradient indicates that the memory consolidation process has been modified

Reinstatement of memory in rats: Dependence upon two forms of retrieval deficit following electroconvulsive shock

Three experiments with a total of 250 male Long-Evans rats investigated the conditions necessary for the recovery of memory following ECS induced amnesia of a training-trial footshock. Exp I failed to provide any strong evidence that memory returned spontaneously. Exp II also failed to show any return of memory when procedures designed to reinstate memory were administered 24 hrs after training and ECS. However, Exp III showed that one of the reinstatement procedures was effective in stimulating the return of memory when administered 96 hrs after training and ECS. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that an ECS which follows a training-trial footshock results in 2 forms of memory-retrieval deficit: (a) a transient amnesia due to a state dependency effect, and (b) a more durable retrieval failure

Differences between Traditional and Electronic Bullying amongst College Students

Abstract Differences between Traditional and Electronic Bullying amongst College Students by Leeland Dale Durst Fall 2011 This study examines the prevalence and impact of electronic and traditional bullying among college students. In this study eighty three men and women were surveyed in several sections of a large, lower-division psychology course at Central Washington University in the Pacific Northwest. The current study examines whether there are differences between electronic and traditional bullying among college students. Likert scale format and dichotomous questions are used to assess the students’ experiences of traditional and electronic bullying. In addition, open- ended questions in the survey addressed why students electronically bully. Results reveal high, statistically significant differences in occurrence for each context of bullying which are traditional, text-message, Internet and picture-phone. Significant differences were also found for each type of bullying consisting of five conditions which are physical, verbal, rumor, exclusion and secret exclusion. These findings may help in the establishment of treatments for psychological distress that may occur as a result of electronic intimidation and harassment. Implications for future research are discussed

Presentation of a flashing light following training produces amnesia

Long—Evans rats given exposure to a flashing-light stimulus following one-trial fear conditioning showed amnesia relative to controls not given the flashing-light experience. Together with previous results obtained in this laboratory, it is apparent that the flashing light modulates memory processing

Stimulation of specific regions of brain in rats modifies retention for newly acquired and old habits

Three experiments investigated some effects of low-level stimulation on the amygdaloid complex (AMYG) and the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) in male Long-Evans rats. Exp I used a tilt box to test for motivational and/or reinforcement effects but failed to demonstrate these effects with stimulation of either structure. Exp II used a 1-trial fear-conditioning task and showed that stimulation of the AMYG disrupted retention when given immediately after training or, under some conditions, 4 days after training. Using the same task, Exp III showed that stimulation of the MRF enhanced retention when given immediately after training or, under some conditions, 4 days after training. Data indicate that under these conditions, modification of retention by low-level stimulation of specific brain structures is independent of the age of the memory

Comparison of the enhancement gradients of retention obtained with stimulation of the mesencephalic reticular formation after training or memory reactivation

Rats were conditioned to fear a tone by a single pairing of the tone with footshock. In Experiment 1, retention, as indexed by latency to drink in the presence of the tone, was enhanced by stimulation of the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) when given immediately, and to a lesser extent, 30 min after training. Stimulation at later intervals was without effect. In Experiment 2, animals were trained and, 4 days later, were given memory reactivation treatment and, at different intervals, stimulation of the MRF. This procedure resulted in a gradient of enhancement of retention very similar to that obtained in Experiment 1. Memory storage and memory retrieval explanations of these results are discussed and it is concluded that a demonstration of an enhancement gradient with treatment administered at various intervals after original learning can no longer serve as strong support for the notion that memory storage processes have been affected

Rapid Development of Latent Inhibition: No Effect of Implanted Site

Preliminary data suggested that latent inhibition developed rapidly in rats with unilateral electrode placement in the mesencephalic reticular formation. The present study suggests that electrode placement in such rats is irrelevant to this effect, as rats with implants in other structures as well as unimplanted rats showed the rapid development of latent inhibition