title: Predictive learning in nutrient-based flavor conditioning.
abstract: This paper presents two experiments on nutrient-based flavor conditioning with rats as subjects and sucrose as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Experiment 1 was aimed at establishing an optimal control for conditioning, comparing simultaneous and serial presentations of a flavor and the US. The results showed that simultaneous, but not serial training, produced conditioning. Experiment 2 was designed to obtain evidence of summation as an index of both conditioned inhibition and predictive learning. Group Simultaneous received Pavlovian conditioned inhibition training during which flavor A was simultaneously paired with sucrose on excitatory trials (A+), and forming an unreinforced compound with flavor B on inhibitory trials (AB-). An independent excitor for the summation test was also trained by simultaneous pairings with sucrose (C+). In the control group (Blocked), the AB- trials were presented forming a block at the beginning of training to avoid a negative contingency-relationship with sucrose, and flavor A received serial rather than simultaneous pairing with sucrose (A --> +). On the summation test, only in group Simultaneous was consumption of the CB compound lower than that of flavor C alone, suggesting that, during training, flavor A activated an expectancy of the US occurrence.
authors: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: García-Burgos
authors: Felisa
authors: F
authors: González Reyes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D007858:Learning; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose