Timing of omitted events: an analysis of temporal control of inhibitory behavior

This paper reviews research designed to investigate the temporal control of inhibitory responding using rats as subjects. One area of investigation has focused on the role of temporal variables in conditioned inhibition produced using Pavlov's [Pavlov, I.P., 1927. Conditioned Reflexes. Oxford University Press, London, 430 pp.] procedure. These studies have found that evidence of conditioned inhibition obtained by negative summation testing is strongest when the conditioned inhibitor signals the omission of the unconditioned stimulus (US) at the same temporal location as a transfer excitor signals presentation of the US [e.g., Barnet, R.C., Miller, R.R., 1996. Temporal encoding as a determinant of inhibitory control. Learn. Motiv. 27, 73-91]. Similarly, retardation of acquisition of behavioral control by a previously inhibitory conditioned stimulus (CS) is maximal when the inhibitory CS is paired with the US at the same temporal location as the inhibitor had previously signaled US omission [Burger, D., Denniston, J.C., Miller, R.R., 2001. Temporal coding in condition inhibition: retardation tests. Anim. Learn. Behav. 29, 281-290]. Other lines of research designed to assess the associative structure of temporal control of inhibition [e.g., Denniston, J.C., Blaisdell, A.P., Miller, R.R., 2004. Temporal control in conditioned inhibition: analysis of associative structure of inhibition. J. Exp. Psychol. Anim. Behav. Process. 30, 190-202] are reviewed, as is the assessment of temporal control of inhibition produced through extinction [Denniston, J.C., Miller, R.R., 2003. The role of temporal variables in inhibition produced through extinction. Learn. Behav. 31, 35-48]. These collective observations are discussed in terms of the temporal coding hypothesis [Matzel, L.D., Held, F.P., Miller, R.R., 1988. Reexamination of simultaneous and backward conditioning: Implications for contiguity theory. Learn. Motiv. 19, 317-344].