Learned persistence at 11–12 days but not at 10–11 days in infant rats

Chen, Jaw-sy; Amsel, Abram

doi:10.1002/dev.420130506

Cited by 25 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…In infant rats it has been reported that learned behavioral persistence defined through heightened responsiveness during extinction emerges after postnatal Day 12. Younger pups trained under a continuous reinforcement schedule appear not to exhibit dramatic increases during extinction in terms of instrumental behaviors (locomotion in a runway) leading towards suckling and milk reinforcement (Chen & Amsel, 1980). According to the present study, learned perseverance is likely to be observed in 5-and 6-day-old pups under an experimental framework involving the contingency of suckling-related behaviors and milk reinforcement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…It can represent an alternative tool for the ontogenetic analysis of basic learning and memory processes as well as for the examination of the structure and dynamics of suckling behavior. Relatively brief and non-invasive techniques involving operant conditioning in infant rats are scarce (But see, Alberts & May, 1984;Chen & Amsel, 1980;Johanson & Hall, 1979;Lithgow & Barr, 1984). Analogous techniques developed for human babies have allowed valuable contributions for understanding the acquisition, retention and expression of early memories derived from the contingency of age-specific behaviors and availability of positive reinforcement (e.g., Rovee-Collier, 1987;Rovee-Collier & Barr, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rapid acquisition of operant conditioning in 5‐day‐old rat pups: A new technique articulating suckling‐related motor activity and milk reinforcement

Arias

Spear

Molina

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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Newborn rats are capable of obtaining milk by attaching to a surrogate nipple. During this procedure pups show a gradual increase in head and forelimb movements oriented towards the artificial device that are similar to those observed during nipple attachment. In the present study the probability of execution of these behaviors was analyzed as a function of their contingency with intraoral milk infusion using brief training procedures (15 min). Five-day-old pups were positioned in a smooth surface having access to a touch-sensitive sensor. Physical contact with the sensor activated an infusion pump which served to deliver intraoral milk reinforcement (Paired group). Yoked controls received the reinforcer when Paired neonates touched the sensor. Paired pups trained under a continuous reinforcement schedule emitted significantly more responses than Yoked controls following two (Experiment 1) or one training session (Experiment 2). These differences were also observed during an extinction session conducted immediately after training. The level of maternal deprivation before training (3 or 6 hr) or the volume of milk delivered (1.0 or 1.5 microl per pulse) did not affect acquisition or extinction performances. In addition, it was observed that the rate of responding of Paired pups during the early phase of the extinction session significantly predicted subsequent levels of acceptance of the reinforcer. These results indicate that the frequency of suckling-related behaviors can be rapidly modified by means of associative operant processes. The operant procedure here described represents an alternative tool for the ontogenetic analysis of self-administration or behavior processes of seeking.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid acquisition of operant conditioning in 5‐day‐old rat pups: A new technique articulating suckling‐related motor activity and milk reinforcement

Arias

Spear

Molina

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychobiology

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show abstract

“…Their rapid extinction is ensured by the fact that they do not exhibit the partial reinforcement extinction effect before 11 to 13 days of life (Chen and Amsel, 1980). Corresponding studies with human infants are lacking, as are studies of extinction with infants more generally.…”

Section: Pruning Excessive Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adults typically receive partial reinforcement to slow the extinction of conditioned fear (e.g., LaBar, Gatenby, et al, 1998), but very young infants do not exhibit a partial reinforcement effect during extinction (Chen and Amsel, 1980). Adults are usually tested for spontaneous recovery within a few days of extinction, whereas infants are often tested over their entire forgetting function.…”

Section: Pruning Excessive Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why a neuromaturational model of memory fails: Exuberant learning in early infancy

Rovee‐Collier¹,

Giles²

2010

Behavioural Processes

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The characteristics of memory in infants and adults seem vastly different. The neuromaturational model attributes these differences to an ontogenetic change in the basic memory process, namely, to the hierarchical maturation of two distinct memory systems. The early-maturing (implicit) system is functional during the first third of infancy and supports the gradual learning of perceptual and motor skills; the late-maturing (explicit) system supports representations of contextually specific events, relationships, and associations. An alternative model holds that the basic memory process does not change, but what infants and adults select to encode for learning does. This ontogenetic change in selective attention has been mistaken for an ontogenetic shift in the basic memory process. Over the last 25 years, evidence from transfer studies with developing rats and human infants has revealed that the first third of infancy is actually a period of exuberant learning that ends, not coincidentally, at the same age that the late-maturing memory system presumably emerges. This article reviews data from recent studies of sensory preconditioning, potentiation, associative chains, and transitive inference with human infants that support this conclusion-data for which the neuromaturational model cannot account. Fast mapping is a general learning mechanism that accounts for this evidence.

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“…Beyond this general trend, however, we have found that the PREE appears much earlier in ontogeny than do other paradoxical effects. The PREE first appears at 12-14 days (Chen & Amsel, 1980;Letz, Burdette, Gregg, Kittrell, & Amsel, 1978), whereas the MREE fails to appears clearly until about 21 days (Burdette, Brake, Chen, & Amsel, 1976;Chen, Gross, & Amsel, 1981;; SNC first appears at 25-26 days (Chen et al, 1981;; and there is no evidence of the OEEprior to 25-26 days . The sequence of appearance of these extinction effects remains to be explained by theories that attribute these effects to a common set of learning mechanisms.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Dissociation of patterned alternation learning and the partial reinforcement extinction effect in preweanling rats

Stanton

1983

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Sprague-Dawley rat pups aged 14 or 18 days were trained on a patterned (single) alternation schedule with either an 8-or a 105-sec intertrial interval (lTI). At the 8-sec ITI, alternation learning was obtained at both ages, but the older age group learned more rapidly. There was no evidence of response alternation at the 105-sec ITI at either age. Continuously reinforced (CRF) and partially reinforced (PRF) groups trained and extinguished along with the patterned alternation (PA) group at the 105-sec ITI showed a robust partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) at both ages. Moreover, there was no difference in the rate of extinction of the PRF and PA groups at either age (i.e., no effect of N-length). A PREE can therefore be obtained in infant rats under conditions that apparently preclude the formation of sequential associations. The implications of this finding for the ontogeny of instrumental learning and extinction are discussed.415

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Learned persistence at 11–12 days but not at 10–11 days in infant rats

Cited by 25 publications

References 20 publications

Rapid acquisition of operant conditioning in 5‐day‐old rat pups: A new technique articulating suckling‐related motor activity and milk reinforcement

Rapid acquisition of operant conditioning in 5‐day‐old rat pups: A new technique articulating suckling‐related motor activity and milk reinforcement

Why a neuromaturational model of memory fails: Exuberant learning in early infancy

Dissociation of patterned alternation learning and the partial reinforcement extinction effect in preweanling rats

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