Comparisons of stimulus learning and response learning in a punishment situation

Bolles, Robert C.; Holtz, Rolf; Dunn, Thomas; Hill, Wendy L.

doi:10.1016/0023-9690(80)90022-3

Cited by 53 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Early in punishment training or when there is a weak contingency between the response and the shock, Pavlovian fear conditioning can contribute to reductions in responding (Bolles 1975;Bolles et al 1980;Goodall 1984). However, this effect is observed on both the punished and unpunished levers (i.e., conditioned suppression), and the influence of Pavlovian associations is considerably reduced across the course of punishment training and/or when there is a strong response-shock contingency such as during the fixed ratio used here (Bolles 1975;Bolles et al 1980;Goodall 1984). Here we measured behavioral freezing responses during the punishment task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The role of the basolateral amygdala in punishment

Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel

McNally

2015

Learn. Mem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aversive stimuli not only support fear conditioning to their environmental antecedents, they also punish behaviors that cause their occurrence. The amygdala, especially the basolateral nucleus (BLA), has been critically implicated in Pavlovian fear learning but its role in punishment remains poorly understood. Here, we used a within-subjects punishment task to assess the role of the BLA in the acquisition and expression of punishment as well as aversive choice. Rats that pressed two individually presented levers for pellet rewards rapidly suppressed responding to one lever if it also caused footshock deliveries (punished lever) but continued pressing a second lever that did not cause footshock (unpunished lever). Infusions of GABA agonists baclofen and muscimol (BM) into the BLA significantly impaired the acquisition of this suppression. BLA inactivations using BM also reduced the expression of well-trained punishment. There was anatomical segregation within the BLA so that caudal, not rostral, BLA was implicated in punishment. However, when presented with punished and unpunished levers simultaneously in a choice test without deliveries of shock punisher, rats expressed a preference for unpunished over the punished lever and BLA inactivations had no effect on this preference. Taken together, these findings indicate that the BLA is important for both the acquisition and expression of punishment but not for aversive choice. This role appears to be linked to neurons in the caudal BLA, rather than rostral BLA, although the circuitry that contributes to this functional segregation is currently unknown, and is most parsimoniously interpreted as a role for caudal BLA in determining the aversive value of the shock punisher.Aversive reinforcement, such as delivery of footshock, can have two distinct consequences for learning and behavior. First, it supports learning about its environmental antecedents to imbue such stimuli with the ability to elicit conditioned responses. In this way, animals learn to fear a stimulus that signals occurrence of footshock and will express species-typical defense reactions upon subsequent presentations of that stimulus. Second, aversive reinforcement supports learning about its behavioral antecedents and alters the probability that these behaviors will be emitted again in the future. In this way, animals learn to withhold or reduce a behavior that causes delivery of footshock. These two consequences of aversive reinforcement, fear and punishment, are linked to the actions of different learning processes. Fear is due to the operation of Pavlovian conditioning and formation of associations between the CS and the shock US. Punishment is due to the operation of instrumental aversive learning and the formation of an association between a response and the shock punisher (Bolles 1975;Bolles et al.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fear is due to the operation of Pavlovian conditioning and formation of associations between the CS and the shock US. Punishment is due to the operation of instrumental aversive learning and the formation of an association between a response and the shock punisher (Bolles 1975;Bolles et al …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the basolateral amygdala in punishment

Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel

McNally

2015

Learn. Mem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Clearly, the latter result is often the desired endpoint when punishment is administered by another individual, and response suppression is proportional to the magnitude, certainty and imminence of an anticipated punishment [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] . This effect is to some extent Pavlovian: cues that were previously paired with punishment suppress instrumental responding in the absence of any instrumental contingency (conditioned suppression 54 ), but adding such a contingency substantially enhances suppression 55,56 . Instrumental learning allows learning of arbitrary and potentially highly adaptive responses beyond the restrictive set that are available to Pavlovian mechanisms, and there are two distinct types of instrumental action: habits, and goal-orientated actions.…”

Section: Instrumental Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The neurobiology of punishment

2007

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Second, they support instrumental learning about their behavioral antecedents to alter the probability that these behaviors will be emitted again in the future. In this way, animals learn an association between an action and aversive outcome (Bolles et al 1980;Mackintosh 1983;Goodall and Mackintosh 1987) to withhold behaviors that cause the outcome. Whereas much is known about the brain mechanisms of Pavlovian aversive learning, little is known about these mechanisms for instrumental aversive learning.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lateral, not medial, prefrontal cortex contributes to punishment and aversive instrumental learning

Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel

McNally

2016

Learn. Mem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aversive outcomes punish behaviors that cause their occurrence. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated in punishment learning and behavior, although the exact roles for different PFC regions in instrumental aversive learning and decision-making remain poorly understood. Here, we assessed the role of the orbitofrontal (OFC), rostral agranular insular (RAIC), prelimbic (PL), and infralimbic (IL) cortex in instrumental aversive learning and decision-making. Rats that pressed two individually presented levers for pellet rewards rapidly suppressed responding to one lever if it also caused mild punishment (punished lever) but continued pressing the other lever that did not cause punishment (unpunished lever). Inactivations of OFC, RAIC, IL, or PL via the GABA agonists baclofen and muscimol (BM) had no effect on the acquisition of instrumental learning. OFC inactivations increased responding on the punished lever during expression of well-learned instrumental aversive learning, whereas RAIC inactivations increased responding on the punished lever when both levers were presented simultaneously in an unpunished choice test. There were few effects of medial PFC (PL and IL) inactivation. These results suggest that lateral PFC, notably OFC and RAIC, have complementary functions in aversive instrumental learning and decision-making; OFC is important for using established aversive instrumental memories to guide behavior away from actions that cause punishment, whereas RAIC is important for aversive decision-making under conditions of choice.

show abstract

Comparisons of stimulus learning and response learning in a punishment situation

Cited by 53 publications

References 16 publications

The role of the basolateral amygdala in punishment

The role of the basolateral amygdala in punishment

The neurobiology of punishment

Lateral, not medial, prefrontal cortex contributes to punishment and aversive instrumental learning

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About