Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

90
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
90
Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning01:15

Real-World Application of Classical Conditioning

551
Classical conditioning not only includes the initial pairing of stimuli but also extends to more complex forms, such as higher-order conditioning. Higher-order conditioning involves creating associations beyond the primary conditioned stimulus, resulting in a chain of conditioned responses.
Higher-order, or second-order, conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an already established conditioned stimulus through repeated pairings. For instance, if a dog has been...
551
Operant Conditioning01:21

Operant Conditioning

1.6K
Operant conditioning, a key concept in behavioral psychology, involves using reinforcement and punishment to alter the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. B.F. introduced this type of conditioning. Skinner focused on voluntary behaviors and the consequences that follow them, influencing whether these behaviors will be strengthened or diminished.
Reinforcement in operant conditioning can be positive or negative, both of which serve to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive...
1.6K
Primary and Secondary Reinforcers01:23

Primary and Secondary Reinforcers

246
In psychology, reinforcement is a key concept in behavior modification. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments involving rats in what is known as a Skinner box. The rats learned to press a lever to receive food, a primary reinforcer that fulfilled their innate need for nourishment.
Effective reinforcers for humans vary depending on the individual and the context. Primary reinforcers, such as food, water, sleep, shelter, and pleasure, have inherent value and satisfy basic biological...
246
Reinforcement Schedules01:24

Reinforcement Schedules

144
Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for teaching new behaviors to both animals and humans. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments using rats in a Skinner box. When a rat pressed a lever, it received a food pellet. This immediate reward encouraged the rat to repeat the behavior. This method, where a reward follows every instance of the behavior, is known as continuous reinforcement. It is highly effective for establishing new behaviors quickly.
Once a behavior is learned,...
144
Law of Effect01:06

Law of Effect

1.4K
B.F. Skinner, a prominent figure in behavioral psychology, introduced operant conditioning by emphasizing the role of consequences in shaping behavior. This theory builds upon the law of effect proposed by Edward Thorndike, which posits that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated. In contrast, those followed by unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to recur.
Edward Thorndike's foundational work involved studying learning in animals, particularly using puzzle...
1.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Neural systems supporting cognitive reappraisal in young children: An fMRI study.

Developmental cognitive neuroscience·2026
Same author

Childhood threat exposure and poor emotional awareness predict neural correlates of emotion regulation in adolescent girls.

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)·2026
Same author

Developmental alcohol exposure alters domains of executive function in rodents.

Physiology & behavior·2026
Same author

Neural alterations in Pavlovian reversal learning link childhood trauma and transdiagnostic anxiety in youth.

Journal of affective disorders·2026
Same author

Understanding developmental transitions of fear learning circuits: Insights from behavioral neuroscience.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same author

Dimensions of early life adversity and cardiometabolic health in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
06:57

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats

Published on: February 4, 2016

11.0K

From learned value to sustained bias: how reward conditioning changes attentional priority.

Kristin N Meyer1, Joseph B Hopfinger1, Elena M Vidrascu1

  • 1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|May 1, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Striatal activity during reward learning influences attention, even after rewards cease. This neural activity in the striatum drives changes in visual and parietal brain regions, maintaining attentional bias.

Keywords:
attentionfMRIrewardstriatumvmPFC

More Related Videos

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

9.9K
A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
08:45

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

9.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
06:57

Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats

Published on: February 4, 2016

11.0K
Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

9.9K
A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets
08:45

A Dual Task Procedure Combined with Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Test Attentional Blink for Nontargets

Published on: December 5, 2014

9.2K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Attentional bias towards reward-associated stimuli can persist even when detrimental to goal-directed behavior.
  • A prevailing theory suggests that dopamine signaling in the striatum during reward conditioning alters neural representations in the visual cortex and parietal lobe, sustaining attentional bias post-reward.
  • Limited research has investigated neural activity across both rewarded and unrewarded phases of such tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying sustained attentional bias following reward conditioning.
  • To examine the relationship between striatal activity during learning and subsequent attentional biases.
  • To explore how reward history influences neural activity in visual, parietal, and prefrontal cortices.

Main Methods:

  • Participants underwent functional brain imaging (fMRI) during two phases: a reward-conditioning phase and a spatial cueing task.
  • In the conditioning phase, specific stimuli were associated with monetary rewards.
  • In the spatial cueing task, these previously rewarded stimuli served as non-predictive cues.

Main Results:

  • Striatal activity during the conditioning phase predicted enhanced visual cortical and parietal activity towards conditioned stimuli during the test phase.
  • Increased striatal activity correlated with decreased ventro-medial prefrontal cortex activity in response to conditioned stimuli.
  • Striatal activity was also linked to anterior cingulate cortex activation when conditioned stimuli interfered with task performance.

Conclusions:

  • Striatal activity during reward conditioning is a key predictor of attentional bias.
  • Learning-induced alterations in visual and parietal brain activity, driven by striatal signals, mediate the sustained attentional bias.
  • These findings elucidate the neural pathways through which reward history shapes attention.