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Two components of responding in Pavlovian lick suppression
Jeremie Jozefowiez1, James E Witnauer, Ralph R Miller
1Escola de Psicologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal. jeremie@psi.uminho.pt
Learning & Behavior
|January 26, 2011
Summary
Rats showed less licking behavior early in a conditioned stimulus (CS) when it predicted a footshock (unconditioned stimulus [US]). This initial suppression appears to be an unconditioned response to the shock itself, not a learned reaction to the stimulus.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Animal behavior research
- Learning and memory
Background:
- The lick suppression paradigm is a standard method for studying fear conditioning in rodents.
- Understanding the temporal dynamics of conditioned responses is crucial for elucidating learning mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal pattern of behavioral suppression in response to a conditioned stimulus (CS) preceding an unconditioned stimulus (US).
- To differentiate between conditioned and unconditioned responses in the lick suppression paradigm.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained in a lick suppression paradigm using auditory conditioned stimuli (CS) of varying durations (30s or 120s).
- Footshock (unconditioned stimulus [US]) was delivered contingent on the CS for experimental groups, while control groups received no shock.
- Behavioral suppression (licking) was measured during the CS presentation.
- Experiment 2 involved presenting two distinct CSs to assess stimulus generalization and response timing.
Main Results:
- Behavioral suppression, indicated by reduced licking, was observed only when the CS predicted the footshock (US).
- Suppression was more pronounced at the beginning of the conditioned stimulus, regardless of its duration.
- Initial suppression occurred even when the shock was presented after a separate stimulus, suggesting an unconditioned response.
Conclusions:
- The early suppression of licking is likely an unconditioned response to the mere presence or anticipation of the footshock (US), rather than a conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus (CS).
- This finding highlights the importance of temporal analysis in distinguishing between conditioned and unconditioned behavioral effects in fear conditioning paradigms.
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