Associative and non-associative blinking in classically conditioned adult rats

PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR

卷:96

Article

Lindquist, Derick H.¹  Vogel, Richard W.²  Steinmetz, Joseph E.¹ 

[1] Univ Kansas, Dept Mol Biosci, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA

[2] Indiana Univ, Dept Psychol & Brain Sci, Bloomington, IN 47405 USA

关键词: Eyeblink conditioning;    Rat;    CS modality;    CS duration;    Interstimulus interval;    Associative blinking;    Non-associative blinking;    Spontaneous blinking;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.11.008

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Over the last several years, a growing number of investigators have begun using the rat in classical eyeblink conditioning experiments, yet relatively few parametric studies have been done to examine the nature of conditioning in this species. We report here a parametric analysis of classical eyeblink conditioning in the adult rat using two conditioned stimulus (CS) modalities (light or tone) and three interstimulus intervals (ISI; 280, 580. or 880 ms). Rats trained at the shortest ISI generated the highest percentage of conditioned eyeblink responses (CRs) by the end of training. At the two longer ISIs, rats trained with the tone CS produced unusually high CR percentages over the first few acquisition sessions, relative to rats trained with the light CS. Experiment 2 assessed non-associative blink rates in response to presentations of the light or tone, in the absence of the US, at the same ISI durations used in paired conditioning. Significantly more blinks occurred with longer than shorter duration lights or tones. A higher blink rate was also recorded at all three durations during the early tone-alone sessions. The results suggest that early in classical eyeblink conditioning, rats trained with a tone CS may emit a high number of non-associative blinks, thereby inflating the CR frequency reported at this stage of training. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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