Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus…

A distributed limbic-corticostriatal circuitry is implicated in cue-induced drug craving and relapse. Exposure to drug-paired cues not only precipitates relapse, but also triggers the reactivation and reconsolidation of the cue-drug memory. However, the limbic cortical-striatal circuitry underlying drug memory reconsolidation is unclear. The aim…

The storage of stable memories is generally considered to rely on changes in the functional properties and/or the synaptic connectivity of neural networks. However, these changes are not easily tractable given the complexity of the learning procedures and brain circuits studied. Such a search can be narrowed down by studying memories of specific…

arrow]US associations also survived The memories of the unconditioned stimulus (US) and its absence (No US), symbolized as S[superscript R] and S[superscript N], respectively, may be retrieved on US or No US trials giving rise to four types of associations, S[superscript R][right arrow]US, S[superscript R][right arrow]No US, S[superscript N][right…

In this article, I examine developments in research on achievement motivation and comment on how those developments are reflected in Wittrock's generative model of learning. Specifically, I focus on the roles of prior knowledge, the generation of knowledge, and beliefs about ability. Examples from Wittrock's theory and from current motivational…

A. Redish et al. (2007) proposed a reinforcement learning model of context-dependent learning and extinction in conditioning experiments, using the idea of "state classification" to categorize new observations into states. In the current article, the authors propose an interpretation of this idea in terms of normative statistical inference. They…

Cue competition is one of the most studied phenomena in associative learning. However, a theoretical disagreement has long stood over whether it reflects a learning or performance deficit. The comparator hypothesis, a model of expression of Pavlovian associations, posits that learning is not subject to competition but that performance reflects a…

The aim of this study was to examine parameters affecting age differences in eyeblink classical conditioning in a large sample of young and middle-aged rabbits. A total of 122 rabbits of mean ages of 4 or 26 mo were tested at inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) of 600 or 750 msec in the delay or trace paradigms. Paradigm affected both age groups…

The rabbit nictitating membrane (NM) response underwent successive stages of acquisition and extinction training in both delay (Experiment 1) and trace (Experiment 2) classical conditioning. In both cases, successive acquisitions became progressively faster, although the largest, most reliable acceleration occurred between the first and second…

This article reviews evidence and theories concerning the nature of stimulus representations in Pavlovian conditioning. It focuses on the elemental approach developed in stimulus sampling theory (R. C. Atkinson & W. K. Estes, 1963; R. R. Bush & F. Mosteller, 1951b) and extended by I. P. L. McLaren and N. J. Mackintosh (2000, 2002) and contrasts…

Memories can have different strengths, largely dependent on the intensity of reinforcers encountered. The relationship between reinforcement and memory strength is evident in asymptotic memory curves, with the level of the asymptote related to the intensity of the reinforcer. Although this is likely a fundamental property of memory formation,…

By integrating previous computational models of corticohippocampal function, the authors develop and test a unified theory of the neural substrates of familiarity, recollection, and classical conditioning. This approach integrates models from 2 traditions of hippocampal modeling, those of episodic memory and incremental learning, by drawing on an…

The present work introduces a form of associative mechanosensory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex (PER) in honeybees. In our paradigm, harnessed honeybees learn the elemental association between mechanosensory, antennal stimulation and a reward of sucrose solution delivered to the proboscis. Thereafter, bees extend their proboscis to…

Spontaneous recovery from extinction is one of the most basic phenomena of Pavlovian conditioning. Although it can be studied by using a variety of designs, some procedures are better than others for identifying the involvement of underlying learning processes. A wide range of different learning mechanisms has been suggested as being engaged by…

Although an important role for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) has been established for memory consolidation in a variety of learning paradigms, it is not known if this pathway is also involved in appetitive classical conditioning. We address this question by using a single-trial food-reward conditioning paradigm in the freshwater…