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Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
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Extinction of conditioned defensive burying.
J P Pinel1, S Puttaswamaiah, D M Wilkie
1Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1W5 Canada.
Behavioural Processes
|June 5, 2014
Summary
Repeated exposure to a shock-associated object is necessary to extinguish conditioned defensive burying behavior in rats. Simply waiting or being in the test chamber without the object does not reduce this response.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior Studies
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Conditioned defensive burying is a protective behavior in rodents.
- Understanding extinction of learned fear responses is crucial in behavioral science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extinction process of conditioned defensive burying behavior in rats.
- To determine the necessity of repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus for extinction.
Main Methods:
- Rats received a single foot shock upon contact with a dowel in a bedding-lined chamber.
- Conditioned defensive burying was measured over several days under extinction trials (no further shocks).
- Control conditions included passage of time and exposure to the chamber without the dowel, and removal of bedding.
Main Results:
- Burying behavior directed at the dowel significantly decreased by the fifth or sixth extinction trial.
- Repeated exposure to the dowel was essential for this reduction in burying.
- Passage of time or chamber exposure alone did not decrease burying behavior.
- Removing bedding to prevent burying did not alter the extinction rate.
Conclusions:
- Extinction of conditioned defensive burying requires repeated interaction with the conditioned stimulus (dowel).
- The behavior is not extinguished by mere passage of time or general environmental exposure.
- The physical act of burying is not a prerequisite for the extinction of the underlying association.
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