title: Modulation of unconditioned defense reflexes by a putative emotive Pavlovian conditioned stimulus.
abstract: Four experiments showed differential modulation of defensive unconditioned responses (URs) in rabbits by contextual stimuli that Brandon and Wagner (1991) have shown similarly to modulate conditioned eyeblink responses. Two 30-s auditory cues, A and B, were differentially paired with shock. Tests were presentations of a response-eliciting probe stimulus within A, B, or a comparable blank interval, Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that A and B differentially facilitated eyeblink URs, and Experiments 3 and 4 showed that A and B similarly differentially facilitated startle responses elicited by airpuffs to the ear. These data are consistent with a characterization of Pavlovian conditioning that distinguishes between emotive and sensory conditioning and assumes that conditioned emotional responses similarly modulate specific conditioned and unconditioned defensive reflexes (Konorski, 1967; Wagner & Brandon, 1989).
authors.affiliation: Yale University.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brandon
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bombace
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Falls
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D001245:Association Learning; D001288:Attention; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003215:Conditioning, Eyelid; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005239:Fear; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D011817:Rabbits; D011930:Reaction Time