The influence of CS-US interval on several different indices of learning in appetitive conditioning.
Four experiments examined the effects of varying the conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) interval (and US density) on learning in an appetitive magazine approach task with rats. Learning was assessed with conditioned response (CR) measures, as well as measures of sensory-specific stimulus-outcome associations (Pavlovian-instrumental transfer, potentiated feeding, and US devaluation). The results from these studies indicate that there exists an inverse relation between CS-US interval and magazine approach CRs, but that sensory-specific stimulus-outcome associations are established over a wide range of relatively long, but not short, CS-US intervals. These data suggest that simple CR measures provide different information about what is learned than measures of the specific stimulus-outcome association, and that time is a more critical variable for the former than latter component of learning.
Delamater
Andrew R
AR
Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York 11210, USA. andrewd@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Holland
Peter C
PC
D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001245:Association Learning; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013997:Time Factors; D014163:Transfer, Psychology