Role of awareness in meaning established by classical conditioning.

This chapter examines the physical mechanisms in nervous systems in order to elucidate the structural bases and functional principles of synaptic plasticity. Neuroscientific research on plasticity can be divided into four main streams: the neural mechanism for relatively simple kinds of plasticity, such as classical conditioning or habituation; anatomical and physiological studies of temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus and the amygdala; study of the development of the visual system; and the relation between the animal's genes and the development of its nervous system. The chapter first considers the role of the mammalian hippocampus in learning and memory before discussing Donald Hebb's views on synaptic plasticity. It then explores the mechanisms underlying neuronal plasticity and those that decrease synaptic strength, the relevance of time with respect to plasticity, and the occurrence of plasticity during the development of the nervous system. It also describes modules, modularity, and networks in the brain.

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Should we essentially ignore the role of stimuli in a general account of operant selection?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x01234165 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 528-529

Author(s):

Rick A. Bevins

Keyword(s):

Classical Conditioning ◽

Environmental Interaction ◽

General Account

The selectionist account of behavior is actually a focused discussion of operant selection. To this end, the authors essentially exclude stimuli from their analysis. This exclusion is inconsistent with the importance placed on environmental interaction in their general account. Further, this exclusion limits the generality of their account by missing important sources of stimulus-elicited behavior (e.g., classical conditioning).

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Cyclic AMP-dependent plasticity underlies rapid changes in odor coding associated with reward learning

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1709037115 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 115 (3) ◽

pp. E448-E457 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Thierry Louis ◽

Aaron Stahl ◽

Tamara Boto ◽

Seth M. Tomchik

Keyword(s):

Classical Conditioning ◽

Reward Learning ◽

Camp Signaling ◽

Type I ◽

Appetitive Conditioning ◽

Dependent Plasticity ◽

Olfactory Responses ◽

Neuronal Physiology

Learning and memory rely on dopamine and downstream cAMP-dependent plasticity across diverse organisms. Despite the central role of cAMP signaling, it is not known how cAMP-dependent plasticity drives coherent changes in neuronal physiology that encode the memory trace, or engram. In Drosophila, the mushroom body (MB) is critically involved in olfactory classical conditioning, and cAMP signaling molecules are necessary and sufficient for normal memory in intrinsic MB neurons. To evaluate the role of cAMP-dependent plasticity in learning, we examined how cAMP manipulations and olfactory classical conditioning modulate olfactory responses in the MB with in vivo imaging. Elevating cAMP pharmacologically or optogenetically produced plasticity in MB neurons, altering their responses to odorants. Odor-evoked Ca2+ responses showed net facilitation across anatomical regions. At the single-cell level, neurons exhibited heterogeneous responses to cAMP elevation, suggesting that cAMP drives plasticity to discrete subsets of MB neurons. Olfactory appetitive conditioning enhanced MB odor responses, mimicking the cAMP-dependent plasticity in directionality and magnitude. Elevating cAMP to equivalent levels as appetitive conditioning also produced plasticity, suggesting that the cAMP generated during conditioning affects odor-evoked responses in the MB. Finally, we found that this plasticity was dependent on the Rutabaga type I adenylyl cyclase, linking cAMP-dependent plasticity to behavioral modification. Overall, these data demonstrate that learning produces robust cAMP-dependent plasticity in intrinsic MB neurons, which is biased toward naturalistic reward learning. This suggests that cAMP signaling may serve to modulate intrinsic MB responses toward salient stimuli.

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The engram found? Role of the cerebellum in classical conditioning of nictitating membrane and eyelid responses

Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society ◽

10.3758/bf03333573 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 103-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 169

Author(s):

David A. Mccormick ◽

David G. Lavond ◽

Gregory A. Clark ◽

Ronald E. Kettner ◽

Christina E. Rising ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Classical Conditioning ◽

Nictitating Membrane

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Classical conditioning: The role of interdisciplinary theory

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x00024663 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 144-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen Grossberg

Keyword(s):

Classical Conditioning ◽

Interdisciplinary Theory

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The Role of Cross-Cue Reactivity in Coexisting Smoking and Gambling Habits

Journal of Gambling Issues ◽

10.4309/jgi.2016.32.3 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 28 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Edelgard Wulfert ◽

Kristen Harris ◽

James Broussard

Keyword(s):

Conditioned Stimulus ◽

Cigarette Smoking ◽

Classical Conditioning ◽

Problem Gambling ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Cue Reactivity ◽

Subjective Response ◽

Smoking Cues ◽

Poker Players

Cigarette smoking is the most common addictive behaviour co-occurring with problem gambling. Based on classical conditioning, smoking and gambling cues may acquire conditioned stimulus properties that elicit cravings for both behaviours. This study examined cross-cue reactivity in 75 men who were regular smokers, poker players or cigarette-smoking poker players. Participants were exposed to discrete cigarette, poker and neutral cues while skin conductance and psychological urges to smoke and gamble were measured. Results showed evidence of cross-cue reactivity based on skin conductance, and subjective response to smoking cues; subjective response to gambling cues was less clear. Smoking gamblers showed greater skin conductance reactivity to cues, and stronger subjective urges to smoke to smoking and gambling cues, compared to individuals who only smoked or only gambled. This study demonstrates evidence for cross-cue reactivity between a substance and a behavioural addiction, and the results encourage further research.

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