The conceptual and investigative tools for the analysis of social behavior can be expanded by integrating biological theory, control systems theory, and Pavlovian conditioning. Biological theory has focused on the costs and benefits of social behavior from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. In contrast, control systems theory is concerned with how machines achieve a particular goal or purpose. The accurate operation of a system often requires feed-forward mechanisms that adjust system performance in anticipation of future inputs. Pavlovian conditioning is ideally suited to subserve this function in behavioral systems. Pavlovian mechanisms have been demonstrated in various aspects of sexual behavior, maternal lactation, and infant suckling. Pavlovian conditioning of agonistic behavior has been also reported, and Pavlovian processes may likewise be involved in social play and social grooming. Several further lines of evidence indicate that Pavlovian conditioning can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of social interactions, thereby improving their cost/benefit ratio. We extend Pavlovian concepts beyond the traditional domain of discrete secretory and other physiological reflexes to complex real-world behavioral interactions and apply abstract laboratory analyses of the mechanisms of associative learning to the daily challenges animals face as they interact with one another in their natural environments.
How the nervous system encodes learning and memory processes has interested researchers for 100 years. Over this span of time, a number of basic neuroscience methods has been developed to explore the relationship between learning and the brain, including brain lesion, stimulation, pharmacology, anatomy, imaging, and recording techniques. In this paper, we summarize how different research approaches can be employed to generate converging data that speak to how structures and systems in the brain are involved in simple associative learning. To accomplish this, we review data regarding the involvement of a particular region of cerebellar cortex (Larsell's lobule HVI) in the widely used paradigm of classical eyeblink conditioning. We also present new data on the role of lobule HVI in eyeblink conditioning generated by combining temporary brain inactivation and singlecell recording methods, an approach that looks promising for further advancing our understanding of relationships between brain and behavior.Key words: classical conditioning, associative learning, cerebellum, brainstem, neuroscience methods, interpositus nucleus, eyelid conditioning _______________________________________________________________________________We have written this article with two purposes in mind. First, we want to provide readers with an overview of how a variety of techniques are used to explore the involvement of structures and systems in the brain in encoding a relatively specific learned behavior, in this case, the involvement of the cerebellum in classical eyeblink conditioning. Second, we want to provide a glimpse of the difficulties inherent in trying to reach a consensus of opinion about what a given brain structure or system contributes to a specific behavior. We do so by providing a summary of our current understanding of what one brain area, lobule HVI of the cerebellar cortex, contributes to the conditioning process. Our overall goal is to convince the reader that a joint behavioral and neuroscience approach to the study of learning, using a variety of levels of analysis and methods, is an effective way to advance our understanding of the science of learning.For nearly thirty years, in several laboratories, experiments have been conducted to establish a causal relation between the cerebellum and simple forms of motor learning.Although much of the empirical progress has been achieved using the rabbit classical eyeblink conditioning paradigm, the work of Thach, Ito, Lisberger and others also has contributed to our understanding of cerebellar contributions to motor learning, as exemplified by work in the monkey and rabbit on the long-term and short-term adaptation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (e.g., Lisberger, Pavelko, Bronte-Stewart, & Stone, 1994). Despite the advances that have occurred both theoretically and empirically, there is still much work to be done to more firmly identify and define the brain-behavior relationships that are the basis of adaptive movement and behavioral change involving the cerebellum, as well as...
Name agreement in Spanish and English in response to 264 pictures was assessed in monolinguals and in bilinguals, who varied in rated skill in the two languages. Most of the pictures were adapted from a standardized set of line drawings of common objects (Snodgrass & Vanderwart, 1980). Name agreement decreased as language skill decreased, and agreement was lower when labels were given in Spanish rather than in English. The relationship between name agreement and word frequency, word length, and (in the case of English) age of acquisition was assessed; both word frequency and word length were found to be related to agreement. Modal responses given by monolingual subjects were nearly identical in the two languages, and the types of non-modal responses were affected by both naming language and language skill.
Gerbils learned to approach a spatial-olfactory stimulus that signaled access to their pairmate. Experiments 1 and 3 used a discrimination procedure in which 1 conditioned stimulus (the CS+) was presented immediately before access to the pairmate and another (the CS-) was presented alone. Both male and female gerbils came to approach the CS+ sooner than the CS- and spent more time near the CS+ than the CS-. Discrimination learning was facilitated by making the CS+ and CS- spatially distinct (Experiment 3). Learning also was demonstrated in male gerbils, using a between-subjects design with a single CS. Pairing the CS with the opportunity for social interaction resulted in greater approach to the CS within 10 trials than presenting the CS and social opportunity in an unpaired fashion (Experiment 2). These findings demonstrate social-affiliative learning in the Mongolian gerbil. Similarities and differences between these findings and sexual conditioning effects in other species are discussed.
For the authors' responses to comments similar to those expressed here by Balsam & Drew, please see: M. Domjan, B. Cusato, & R. Villarreal (2000). Extensions, elaborations, and explanations of the role of evolution and learning in the control of social behavior. BBS 23(2):269–82. [Authors' Response to first round of commentary.]
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