title: Salience modulation and associative inhibition interaction: short but not long exposure to similar stimuli protects the salience of the unique elements.
abstract: In three experiments, rats were given preexposure to two similar flavour compounds, AX and BX. Following preexposure, conditioning trials took place in which AX was paired with an illness-induced unconditioned stimulus. Animals that were given short alternated preexposure to AX and BX, showed higher generalization of conditioned aversion to AX to a new compound, AN, than animals that were given blocked preexposure (short and long) and long alternated preexposure (Experiments 1 and 2); and showed less preference for A when they were given a choice between A and X (Experiment 3). These results have been taken to indicate that the salience of the A element is well preserved after short alternated preexposure, but declines when preexposure goes on for some more trials. The results reported support the notion that perceptual learning is a multi-determined phenomenon that depends on salience modulation processes after relatively short preexposure, and on an associative inhibition mechanism after prolonged preexposure.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Psicologia Basica, Universitat de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d'Hebron 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Contel
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sansa
authors.forename: Antonio A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Artigas
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prados
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D000818:Animals; D019343:Citric Acid; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D004326:Drinking; D005260:Female; D005795:Generalization, Stimulus; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D031669:Vanilla; D014868:Water Deprivation
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D019343:Citric Acid; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose