Rats were used in a lick suppression preparation to assess the contribution of conditioned-stimulus (CS)-context and context-unconditioned-stimulus (US) associations to experimental extinction. Experiment 1 investigated whether strengthening the CS-acquisition context association enhances extinction by determining whether stronger extinction is observed when CS-alone trials (i.e., extinction treatment) are administered in the acquisition context (AAC renewal), relative to a context that is neutral with respect to the US (ABC renewal). Less recovery of responding to the CS was observed in the former than in the latter case, extending the finding that AAC renewal is weaker than ABC renewal to our lick suppression preparation. Experiment 2 assessed the contribution of the acquisition context-US association to extinction of a CS by examining the effect of postextinction exposure to the acquisition context on responding to the extinguished CS. This manipulation enhanced responding to the extinguished CS in AAC, but not ABC, renewal. Experiment 3 addressed the contribution of the CS-acquisition context association by examining the potential of a neutral stimulus, presented in compound with the target CS during extinction treatment, to overshadow the CS-acquisition context association. This manipulation enhanced responding to the extinguished CS in AAC, but not ABC, renewal. The results stress the important role of contextual association in extinction and renewal.

Revision of XGE-2019-2727R2" as invited by the action editor, Tim Curran More frequent, shorter trials enhance acquisition in a training session:There is a free lunch!

No abstract

When two cues are reinforced together (in compound), most associative models assume that animals learn an associative network that includes direct cue-outcome associations and a within-compound association. All models of associative learning subscribe to the importance of cueoutcome associations, but most models assume that withincompound associations are irrelevant to each cue's subsequent behavioral control. In the present article, we present an extension of Van Hamme and Wasserman's (Learning and Motivation 25:127-151, 1994) model of retrospective revaluation based on learning about absent cues that are retrieved through within-compound associations. The model was compared with a model lacking retrieval through withincompound associations. Simulations showed that withincompound associations are necessary for the model to explain higher-order retrospective revaluation and the observed greater retrospective revaluation after partial reinforcement than after continuous reinforcement alone. These simulations suggest that the associability of an absent stimulus is determined by the extent to which the stimulus is activated through the within-compound association.

Retrospective revaluation refers to an increase (or decrease) in responding to conditioned stimulus (CS X) as a result of decreasing (or increasing) the associative strength of another CS (A) with respect to the unconditioned stimulus (i.e., A-US) that was previously trained in compound with the target CS (e.g., AX−US or just AX). We discuss the conditions under which retrospective revaluation phenomena are most apt to be observed and their implications for various models of learning that are able to account for retrospective revaluation (e.g., Dickinson and Burke, 1996; Miller and Matzel, 1988; Van Hamme and Wasserman, 1994). Although retroactive revaluation is relatively parameter specific, it is seen to be a reliable phenomenon observed across many tasks and species. As it is not anticipated by many conventional models of learning (e.g., Rescorla and Wagner, 1972), it serves as a critical benchmark for evaluating traditional and newer models.