Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure

Trace conditioning procedures are defined by the introduction of a trace interval between conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g. noise or light) offset and unconditioned stimulus (US, e.g. footshock). The introduction of an additional stimulus as a distractor has been suggested to increase the attentional d...

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Main Authors: Pezze, Marie A., Marshall, Hayley J., Cassaday, Helen J.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32838/
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author Pezze, Marie A.
Marshall, Hayley J.
Cassaday, Helen J.
author_facet Pezze, Marie A.
Marshall, Hayley J.
Cassaday, Helen J.
author_sort Pezze, Marie A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Trace conditioning procedures are defined by the introduction of a trace interval between conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g. noise or light) offset and unconditioned stimulus (US, e.g. footshock). The introduction of an additional stimulus as a distractor has been suggested to increase the attentional demands of the task and to extend the usefulness of the behavioural model. In Experiment 1, the CS was noise and the distractor was provided by an intermittent light. In Experiment 2, the CS was light and the distractor was provided by an intermittent noise. In both experiments, the introduction of a 10s trace interval weakened associative learning compared with that seen in a 0s delay conditioned group. However, there was no consistent evidence of distraction. On the contrary, in Experiment 1, associative learning was stronger (in both trace and delay conditioned groups) for rats conditioned also in the presence of the intermittent light. In Experiment 2, there was no such effect when the roles of the stimuli were reversed. The results of Experiment 2 did however confirm the particular salience of the noise stimulus. The finding of increased associative learning dependent on salience is consistent with arousal-mediated effects on associative learning.
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spelling nottingham-328382020-05-04T17:54:04Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32838/ Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure Pezze, Marie A. Marshall, Hayley J. Cassaday, Helen J. Trace conditioning procedures are defined by the introduction of a trace interval between conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g. noise or light) offset and unconditioned stimulus (US, e.g. footshock). The introduction of an additional stimulus as a distractor has been suggested to increase the attentional demands of the task and to extend the usefulness of the behavioural model. In Experiment 1, the CS was noise and the distractor was provided by an intermittent light. In Experiment 2, the CS was light and the distractor was provided by an intermittent noise. In both experiments, the introduction of a 10s trace interval weakened associative learning compared with that seen in a 0s delay conditioned group. However, there was no consistent evidence of distraction. On the contrary, in Experiment 1, associative learning was stronger (in both trace and delay conditioned groups) for rats conditioned also in the presence of the intermittent light. In Experiment 2, there was no such effect when the roles of the stimuli were reversed. The results of Experiment 2 did however confirm the particular salience of the noise stimulus. The finding of increased associative learning dependent on salience is consistent with arousal-mediated effects on associative learning. Elsevier 2016-07-01 Article PeerReviewed Pezze, Marie A., Marshall, Hayley J. and Cassaday, Helen J. (2016) Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure. Behavioural Processes, 128 . pp. 41-46. ISSN 0376-6357 Trace conditioning; Conditioned emotional response; Attention; Distractor; Potentiation http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037663571630081X doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2016.04.003 doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2016.04.003
spellingShingle Trace conditioning; Conditioned emotional response; Attention; Distractor; Potentiation
Pezze, Marie A.
Marshall, Hayley J.
Cassaday, Helen J.
Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title_full Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title_fullStr Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title_full_unstemmed Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title_short Potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
title_sort potentiation rather than distraction in a trace fear conditioning procedure
topic Trace conditioning; Conditioned emotional response; Attention; Distractor; Potentiation
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32838/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32838/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32838/