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Study Guide answers Chapter 3 Behavioural Processes Define and describe each of habituation and sensitization. Consider: ● effects of different strength/type of stimuli ○ H: weaker, innocuous stimuli ○ S: stronger, noxious stimuli ● how many stimuli required ○ H: repeated ○ S: once (but repetition helps) ● pattern of learning – is it immediate from a single stimulus, or does it develop with exposure? are spaced or massed stimuli more effective? ○ H: develop with exposure, spaced ○ S: single stimulus? ● stimulus specificity – does the stimulus only affect responses to subsequent occurrences of the same stimulus, or can effects carry over to other stimuli? ○ H: discrimination ○ S: carry over (similarity) ● duration of effect – what kinds/patterns of stimuli lead to longer lasting effects? ○ Frequent and spaced Describe: ● Dishabituation ○ A novel/arousing stimulus can temporarily recover responses to the habituating stimulus ○ Ex) different noise = startle again back to original state (even if same noise played again) ○ This fades quickly if repeated noise/trials ● Spontaneous recovery ○ Re-appearance of response that has been extinguished How does the state system in Dual-Process Theory modulate the connection between sensory and motor neurons to influence whether habituation or sensitization occurs? Explain how this model is affected by weak vs. strong stimuli. ● Repeated events always lead to the processes underlying both sensitization and habituation ● A stimulus S is presented, it evokes a chain of neural responses that ○ Eventually leads to activation of a motor response R and ○ Also activates a state system that signals detection of a stimulus ● Habituation after repeated exposures to the (weak) stimulus
○ Modeled as a weakening of the connection between S and R, combined with only mild arousal of the state system ○ The weaker connection decreases the likelihood of activity within motor neurons, making the response to S weaker or less likely to occur ○ If the stimulus is not very arousing, then the weakened connection essentially determines responding ● Sensitization ○ Repeated exposure to (strong) stimuli leading to strengthening btwn sensory and motor neurons ○ Modeled as an increase in the effect of the state system on sensory-evoked responses, such that even harmless stimuli may be able to produce strong responses ● Both sensitization and habituation processes occur in response to every stimulus presentation, and it is the summed combination of these two independent processes that determines the strength of responding ● The actual outcome—the strength of the response to S on a given presentation— depends on such factors as how often S has been repeated and the intensity and recency of highly arousing events Define perceptual learning and priming. ● Perceptual learning: simple experience with a stimulus makes it increasingly easier to tell it apart from other stimuli. ○ Improvement in perception after practice and accumulated experience ● Priming: when exposure to a stimulus biases future behavior, often without recalling any prior conscious processing of the stimulus ● Mere exposure: experience with the stimulus in the absence of any task and with no response required ● Is explicit training and/or feedback required for perceptual learning to occur, or is mere exposure enough? Explain. ○ Mere exposure is enough ○ Type of latent learning repeated exposures can affect a person's behavior and perception even if the person is not aware that this is happening ○ Experimenter gave no feedback but at the end of the process, participant learned ● What is discrimination training? Describe the characteristics of training required to increase discrimination ability. ○ Discrimination training vs perceptual learning ○ Perceptual learning w feedback, learn to tell subtle differences in stimuli ○ Repeated exposure ○ Practice and feedback ● What are some of the potential outcomes of priming (how can it be expressed)? Give at least two examples of how priming is used in the real world. ○ When exposure to stimulus biases future behaviour, often w/o recalling any prior conscious processing of stimulus ○ Prior exposure improve ability to recognize stimulus later
Briefly describe how primary auditory cortex can undergo cortical plasticity (“remap”) due to perceptual learning of tone discrimination in the monkey. ● Learn more about it - more refinement in receptive fields of neurons of sensory cortex due to development or experience ● Capacity for cortical receptive fields and cortical spatial organization to change as result of experience What are some effects of temporary blindness (lack of sensory input to the brain from at least one eye) during development? What does this tell us about the development of perception in the brain? (see under textbook heading “Cortical Plasticity During Development”) ● Increase number of cortical neurons with multimodal/somatosensory/auditory receptive fields What is spatial learning? How do hippocampal place cells encode information about the environment? Describe the development and refinement of place fields. ● Acquiring info abt surroundings that often involve latent (not expressed at time) learning thru exploration ● How place cells work ○ Each cell's receptive field is at particular location or place ○ Action potential firing increases frequency when in that location ○ Cell's selectivity for a location develops first time the animal visits that location, persists over repeated visits ● Refinement ○ Receptive fields become smaller (rats learn environment) - more refined, precise (smaller pixels) Clinical Perspectives Why can learned non-use arise in stroke patients? What is constraint- induced movement therapy, and how can it affect cortical representations for the affected part of the body? ● Loss of sensation but not loss of motor control ● Constraint-induced movement therapy ○ "Good" limb restrained, forcing use of desensitized limb ○ Improve behavioural performance and expands cortical representation for limb Describe findings in support of the notion that repeated exposure to stressful events may sensitize a person to stress, which can increase the likelihood of developing depression or anxiety disorders later in life (see under textbook heading “Sensitization to Stress in Anxiety and Depression”). ● Early evidence that repetition of arousing events could lead to problematic behavioral states came from studies showing that rodents repeatedly exposed to relatively low doses of amphetamines (a stimulant drug) exhibited gradual increases in bizarre, stereotyped behaviors that persisted months after drug exposure ended (robinson & Becker, 1986). repeated exposures to low doses apparently sensitized the animals to
the effects of the drug, because the behaviors were the same as those seen in non- sensitized rodents given higher doses of the drug ● Repeated drug-induced arousal led to long-lasting sensitization in presumably non- schizophrenic rats led researchers to consider the possibility that repeated natural arousal might have similar effects in humans without mental disorders. evidence consistent with this possibility was first described in the early nineties (post, 1992) ● robert post (1992) found that after an initial stressful event triggered a disorder such as depression, increasingly minor stressful events could trigger additional bouts of depression later on. he proposed that this tendency occurred because some individuals become sensitized to stress and its associated physiological states, much in the way that the rats given amphetamines became sensitized to the stimulating effects of the drug. recent studies show that depressed individuals show stronger responses to minor stressors than do healthy individuals (wichers et al., 2009). additionally, depression promotes repetitive thoughts about symptoms and negative events (ruscio et al., 2015), potentially further sensitizing individuals to low-level stressors Describe how sensory prostheses such as cochlear implants can be used to help people regain their hearing. ● Training to interpret virtual sounds (perceptual learning) Chapter 4 Behavioural Processes
- Be able to identify or give an example of each of the following: ● neutral stimulus ○ Conditioned stimulus before it’s conditioned ○ Bell at the beginning ○ Tone at beginning ○ Lecture ● unconditioned stimulus ○ Elicits natural response - don’t need to learn it ○ Food for dog ○ Airpuff for eyeblink ○ Crochet dust ● unconditioned response ○ Natural response to unconditioned stimuli ○ Salivation for dog ○ Blink ○ Sneezing
○ Note that on the beginning of day 1, the only response is the eyeblink UR that occurs after the onset of the airpuff US. however, with training, an eyeblink CR emerges: By day 3, there is movement of the eyelid before the US arrives. this anticipatory blink in response to the CS is the beginning of a CR. With further training, by about day 5, a strong anticipatory eyeblink CR occurs, timed so that the eyelid is safely closed before the airpuff US occurs. ● Can two different cues both associate with the same US? What is the effect on learning? Include the ideas of compound conditioning and overshadowing in your answer. ○ Yes - it’s called compound conditioning ○ Shock more salient, or earlier = stronger ○ More salient cue within compound acquires more of the share of attention and learning than less salient ○ Even stronger cue doesn't produce as much learning as it would've if presented alone ● How can prior experience with a cue affect subsequent conditioning? Include the ideas of blocking and latent inhibition in your answer.
○ Latent inhibition: learned CS is useless, stopped paying attention ○ Blocking: prior experience w cue can block learning of CS and US association ■ Prior training (light) block learning of new training (light + tone) ● Does the neutral stimulus (or CS) generally need to precede the US to produce classical conditioning, or can it occur after the US? Do they need to overlap each other in time, or can they occur separately? What are delay and trace conditioning? ○ No, CS has to be before? ○ Delay has overlap btwn CS and US ○ Trace means CS stops, then US happens ○ It’s better to overlap and shorter time gap between CS and US better for association ○
- What is the CR in a conditioned compensatory response and how does it compare to the UR? Write a few sentences to relate the idea of the conditioned compensatory response to homeostasis and drug tolerance. ● CR opposite of UR, helping to balance/correct for the US-UR reflex ● ex) inject adrenaline (US) -> heart rate increase (UR) ○ repeat procedure in same testing chamber (CS) ○ eventually, CS produces decrease in heart rate (CR) that helps remain homeostasis against expected adrenaline injection
● What is prediction error in this model? ○ difference btwn predicted and what actually occurred ○ adjusting model to reduce errors = learning ● Is the model adjusted after a large prediction error? ○ Yes - weights are adjusted ● Is the model adjusted after no prediction error occurs? ○ No - you’re right so you don’t adjust (no need to change) ● At what level of prediction error is learning complete? ○ 0 prediction error US modulation vs CS modulation ● rescorla-wagner model is US modulation cuz it tries to assign weight to each stimuli to see how well it predicts the US (focus on US), and error being 0 = learned (perfect prediction) ○ US modulation in cerebellum, because inferior olive receives US (airpuff) input, and after learning/training, CS (tone) inhibits inferior olive via branch in interpositus output ○ So net activity in inferior olive is prediction error (actual US - expected US), well- learned CR should have little activity ● mackintosh model is CS modulation bc it focuses on CS and how much attention is devoted to which stimuli
- What is the focus of Mackintosh’s classical conditioning model? stimuli have salience that determines their share of our limited capacity for attention repeated exposure with no consequences decreases salience (attention), a form of habituation CS modulation (attentional) approaches, attention changes processing of CS (Mackintosh) ● How does it explain latent inhibition?
○ Pre-exposure to CS decreases attention for that stimulus so it’s hard to learn about that during training ○ Boy who cried wolf, nothing is predicted so you stop paying attention to the boy
- How do each of the Rescorla-Wagner and Mackintosh models explain blocking? Blocking: prior experience w cue can block learning of CS and US association R-W ● pre-exposure to light + US pairing enables organism to perfectly predict US ● during light + tone + US training, no unexpected US, so no learning about tone (no error) ● no further learning, so tone remains ineffective R-W: blocking occurs because second predictive stimulus redundant for learning - does not result in predictive error Mackintosh: our limited attention focused on cue we already know predicts situation, no attention left over to focus on extraneous info (additional cue) Brain Substrates
- Rabbit classical conditioning (eyeblink): Helpful interpositus diagram
■ inhibit initial stage of US pathway (inferior olive) ○ Purkinje cells inhibit output of the interpositus nucleus ● How do Purkinje cells modulate the output? Describe their firing patterns. ○ It inhibits the interpositus, which is what generates the CR ○ ○ In well-trained animals, Purkinje cell firing rate declines with the CS ○ Shutting off the Purkinje inhibition of the interpositus enables the CS to generate CRs ● As training progresses, how does activity in the inferior olive mirror the idea of Rescorla- Wagner’s prediction error? ○ Little prediction error = little activity in inferior olive ○ The inferior olive receives US (air puff) input. ○ With training, the CS (tone) comes to inhibit the inferior olive via a branch in interpositus output. ○ Thus, net activity in the inferior olive reflects prediction error: actual US (US excitation) minus expected US (as indicated by the CS). ○ During CS–US acquisition, prediction error decreases on each successive learning trial. When thenCR is well learned there should be very little activity in the inferior olive. ○ Observations: inferior olive is highly active early in training and gradually decreases (Sears & Steinmetz, 1991). ○ According to Rescorla-Wagner, less activity in the prediction error detector means less adjustment of the association weight is needed.
- Is the hippocampus necessary for classical conditioning? What aspects of the process might it be involved in? ● Not necessary for classical conditioning, but important for latent inhibition ● Hippocampus is active during classical conditioning but its removal does not result in impairments. What is it doing? ● Removal of the hippocampus eliminates latent inhibition (less conditioning with pre- exposure to the CS) ● Hippocampus may have a role in processing sensory stimuli and their salience/importance, prior to the cerebellum receiving this information ● Perhaps: ○ US modulation (Recorla-Wagner) occurs in the cerebellum
○ CS modulation (Mackintosh) occurs in the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe
- How can Aplysia be classically conditioned? ● What changes in presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons accompany this conditioning? ○ If more serotonin is released from interneuron, glutamate release is increased ○ Glutamate release is what affects motor neuron ○ New synapses will grow ● How can protein activity lead to synaptic changes that store long-term conditioning? ○ Conditioning -> interneuron serotonin release -> glutamate release -> new synapses grow and proteins help w this
Chapter 5 Behavioural Processes
- Define operant conditioning. How is it different from classical conditioning? ● operant: ○ animal operates on environment ○ stimulus evokes voluntary response to produce outcome (S->R->O) ○ animal connects context, behaviour, and outcome ○ If responses (R) aren't made, outcome (O) doesn't occur ○ Outcome contingent on response ● Classical: ○ environment operates on animal ○ automatic response (S->R) ○ animal learns to make predictions of what tends to follow neutral (conditioned) stimulus ○ Airpuff (US) follows tone whether or not CR occurs ○ Outcome occurs regardless of responding
- What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect? S -> R -> O in context/presence of S, response produces outcome O Guides behaviour ● behaviours w positive outcomes increase ● behaviours w negative outcomes decrease ● Explain the S->R->O relationship. ○ Discriminative stimulus leads to a response, which leads to an outcome ● In what way is R (response) flexible in its expression? ○ Initially, it was thought to be a rote motor program. ■ BUT - if the normal motor program is blocked, animals can use other methods to achieve the same goal ■ Like mouse w hands tied behind back - will use nose to press lever ○ THEREFORE: R = “behavioral unit” ■ a class of behaviors that can produce an effect - a goal or intention
● Regarding S (discriminative stimulus, or context) – if S is not present, what is the effect on the likelihood of the associated R and O (outcome) occurring? ○ If no S, then R won’t produce O ○ ex) baby crying, so mom picks up baby ■ Doesn’t work if mom isn’t there
- Types of outcomes: ● Compare the meanings of reinforcement vs. punishment. ○ Reinforcement = pleasant effects ○ Punishment = unpleasant effects ● Compare the meanings of positive vs. negative in relation to reinforcement vs. punishment. ○ Positive = add ○ Negative = subtract ● Explain and give an example of each of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. ○ Positive reinforcement: getting food ○ Negative reinforcement: taking away shock ○ Positive punishment: getting a shock ○ Negative punishment: taking away food
- What is the Skinner box? A box that conditions the animal in some way? Like lever/button press, shocked floor ● Describe how each of the types of outcomes outlined in #3 could be operationalized in the Skinner box.
- What are shaping and chaining? Why/when would you use each of these techniques in training? ● Shaping: elaborates on single response to build up to complex behaviours ○ builds complex R that animal would never spontaneously produce ● Chaining: producing a series of behaviours ○ builds complex R sequences by linking together S->R->O conditions
- Compare the idea of a primary reinforcer with that of a secondary reinforcer. Explain why clicker training and token economies are examples of systems that use secondary reinforcers. ● Primary: stimulus that has innate biological value (food, water, sex) ● Secondary: stimulus that has no intrinsic biological value but been paired w primary reinforcers / provides access to primary reinforcers (money) ● Clicker training: click first paired w primary reinforcer (food) then used in training with occasional primary reinforcer ○ Clicker is secondary reinforcer because you conditioned clicker to be associated with primary reinforcer ● Token economy: an environment (prison or schoolroom) in which tokens function same way as money does in outside world
● ex) average 3 mins (sometimes at 1 min, 5 min, or 8 min, but avg is 3) ● Why does the rate of responding vary over the interval in fixed schedules of reinforcement? ○ At beginning of interval, little/no responding ○ Increases to rapid rate of responding before interval expiration ○ ○ ex) checking time more when it’s closer to the appointment
- What is behavioural economics? What is the bliss point? How can delay discounting influence choices? ● Behavioural economics: how do organisms distribute their time and effort among possible behaviours? (most of us have limited resources, have to decide how to use them) ● Bliss point: “sweet spot” ○ ideal distribution for organism; provides maximum subjective value (value differs btwn individuals) ○ measure by recording actual distribution of time and effort ○ changes when conditions/availability change (like prices) ● Delay discounting: the progressive reduction (or discounting) of the subjective value of a reward the longer it is delayed ○ ex) likely to delay fun in order to study if exam is tomorrow; harder if the exam is not for 5 weeks (even though starting to study early will result in a better grade) Brain Substrates
- Relate the functions of the dorsal striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex to the S->R->O structure of operant conditioning. ● Which of the associations within S->R->O does each structure contribute to? ○ Dorsal striatum = S -> R ○ Orbitofrontal cortex = R -> O ● What is the effect of lesions of the dorsal striatum on operant conditioning - what can still be learned, and what is impaired? ○ No learning of discriminative stimuli (e.g., if light is on, then lever press yields food) ○ Simple R-O relationships are still learned correctly (e.g., press lever, get food) ■ Orbitofrontal cortex ● What kinds of information can cells in the orbitofrontal cortex discriminate between? ○ Discriminates between outcomes ○ We choose actions because of expected outcome ○ Firing neurons discriminate btwn rewards and punishment / reward types ■ ex) grape vs orange juice ■ ● What is the flow of information (between which structures and when) during S->R->O? ○ sensory info goes to orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal striatum ○ orbitofrontal cortex determines possible outcomes from responses (R-O learning) - database of possible linkages btwn responses and outcomes ○ dorsal striatum selects a response to execute based on context (S-R learning) - filter that database for what's relevant for the context we have rn ○ dorsal striatum is end of info flow
