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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
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The Use of Trace Eyeblink Classical Conditioning to Assess Hippocampal Dysfunction in a Rat Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Published on: August 5, 2017
Awareness is necessary for differential trace and delay eyeblink conditioning in humans
Peter F Lovibond1, Jean C J Liu, Gabrielle Weidemann
1School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. P.Lovibond@unsw.edu.au
Biological Psychology
|May 19, 2011
Summary
Trace and delay eyeblink conditioning engage a coordinated learning system, not separate ones. Differential conditioning occurred only when participants were aware of the stimulus relationship, regardless of procedure.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Trace and delay eyeblink conditioning procedures are theorized to involve distinct learning systems.
- One system is proposed to be declarative (hippocampal/cortical) and awareness-dependent.
- The other system is proposed to be reflexive (sub-cortical) and awareness-independent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether trace and delay eyeblink conditioning engage separate or coordinated learning systems.
- To examine the role of contingency awareness in differential conditioning across both procedures.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments utilized trace and delay eyeblink conditioning procedures.
- Participants completed a post-experimental questionnaire to assess contingency awareness.
Main Results:
- Differential conditioning was observed in both trace and delay procedures.
- Conditioning was evident only in participants who demonstrated contingency awareness.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that learning systems are coordinated rather than separate.
- Contingency awareness appears crucial for differential conditioning in both trace and delay paradigms.
- This challenges the notion of strictly independent declarative and reflexive learning systems.
