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Updated: May 14, 2026

Olfactory Context Dependent Memory: Direct Presentation of Odorants
Published on: September 18, 2018
The informational value of contexts affects context-dependent learning
Sara Lucke1, Harald Lachnit, Stephan Koenig
1Department of Psychology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany. sara.lucke@uni-marburg.de
Abstract:
In two predictive-learning experiments, we investigated the role of the informational value of contexts for the formation of context-dependent behavior. During Phase 1 of each experiment, participants received either a conditional discrimination in which contexts were relevant (Group Relevant) or a simple discrimination in which contexts were irrelevant (Group Irrelevant). Each experiment also included an ABA renewal procedure. Participants received Z+ in context A during Phase 1, extinction of Z in context B during Phase 2, and were tested with Z in context A during a test phase. In each experiment, extinction of Z proceeded faster and was followed by stronger response recovery in Group Relevant than in Group Irrelevant. In Experiment 2, which included recording of eye-gaze behavior, dwell times on contexts were longer in Group Relevant than in Group Irrelevant. Our results support the idea that relevant contexts receive more attention, leading to stronger context specificity of learning.
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