Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Methylphenidate can reduce selectivity in associative learning in an aversive trace conditioning task.

R R Horsley1, Helen J Cassaday

  • 1Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.

Journal of Psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
|August 8, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Methylphenidate (MP) administration did not improve selective learning as predicted. Instead, both low and high doses of MP enhanced learning across all stimuli, suggesting reduced selectivity in rats.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Effects of manipulating prefrontal activity and dopamine D1 receptor signaling in an appetitive feature-negative discrimination learning task.

Behavioral neuroscience·2024
Same author

Dopamine D1-like receptors modulate synchronized oscillations in the hippocampal-prefrontal-amygdala circuit in contextual fear.

Scientific reports·2023
Same author

Attitudes to the use of animals in biomedical research: Effects of stigma and selected research project summaries.

PloS one·2023
Same author

Endocannabinoid metabolism inhibition has no effect on spontaneous fear recovery or extinction resistance in Lister hooded rats.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2023
Same author

URB597 induces subtle changes to aggression in adult Lister Hooded rats.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2022
Same author

Cannabidiol Prevents Spontaneous Fear Recovery after Extinction and Ameliorates Stress-Induced Extinction Resistance.

International journal of molecular sciences·2022

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Psychology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Methylphenidate (MP) is a common treatment for ADHD, often presumed to enhance cognitive function.
  • Experimental evidence supporting MP's cognitive-enhancing effects, particularly on learning selectivity, remains limited.
  • ADHD is theorized to involve a 'wide attentional window,' suggesting MP might narrow focus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of methylphenidate (MP) on associative learning within a trace conditioning paradigm.
  • To determine if MP enhances or impairs learning selectivity by examining conditioning to both discrete cues and contextual stimuli.
  • To test the hypothesis that MP narrows the attentional window, leading to increased learning selectivity.

Main Methods:

  • An aversive trace conditioning procedure was used with rats, pairing a conditioned stimulus (noise) with an unconditioned stimulus (footshock).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Learning was assessed by measuring conditioned suppression of drinking behavior in the presence of the conditioned stimulus and contextual cues.
  • Rats received MP at doses of 1 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg prior to conditioning sessions.

    • Main Results:

    • Contrary to predictions, both 1 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg of MP significantly increased associative learning.
    • MP administration led to enhanced conditioning to the discrete conditioned stimulus (CS) as well as to less informative contextual and background stimuli.
    • The results indicated increased, not decreased, conditioning to weaker cues, suggesting reduced learning selectivity.

    Conclusions:

    • Methylphenidate (MP) administration, at the tested doses, did not enhance selective learning in this trace conditioning model.
    • Findings suggest that MP may actually decrease selectivity by enhancing associative learning to both strong and weak stimuli.
    • These results challenge the notion that MP primarily acts by narrowing the attentional window in the context of associative learning.