Neurobiological Substrates of Classical Conditioning across the Life Span

Woodruff-Pak, Diana S.; Logan, Christine G.; Thompson, Richard F.

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb48896.x

Cited by 45 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Classical conditioning is also of interest because it is impaired with aging in humans (3,5,7) and in Alzheimer disease (7,11). The present findings will provide a baseline against which to assess the neurobiological changes contributing to impaired associative learning in aged and Alzheimer disease populations.…”

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confidence: 74%

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A functional anatomical study of associative learning in humans.

Molchan

Sunderland

McIntosh

et al. 1994

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

257

161

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The purpose of the study was to map the functional neuroanatomy of simple associative learning in humans. Eyeblink conditioning was studied in eight normal volunteers using positron emission tomography and H2150.Regional cerebral blood flow was assessed during three sequential phases: (i) explicitly unpaired presentations of the unconditioned stimulus (air puff to the right eye) and conditioned stimulus (binaural tone), (ii) paired presentations of the two stimuli (associative learning), and (Wi) presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone. During associative learning, relative to the unpaired phase, blood flow was significantly increased in primary auditory and left posterior cingulate cortices and significantly decreased in areas of the right cerebellar, right prefrontal, right parietal, and insular cortices and right neostriatum. The lateralization of the changes may relate to the functional organization of memory and learning processes in the brain. The activation in primary auditory cortex is an example, using a neuroimaging technique, of a learning-related change in primary sensory cortex in humans. The changes in areas such as the cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and neostriatum provide support for their roles in associative learning as proposed by animal models. Moreover, these findings show that in humans, even simple classical conditioning involves distributed changes in multiple neural systems.The behavioral laws underlying classical conditioning of skeletal responses, such as eyeblink, are well defined, making this paradigm especially attractive for studying human associative learning (1, 2). Although animal studies of associative learning have provided considerable information on neurophysiological and neuroanatomical substrates (3-7), little is known about the neural systems involved in associative learning in humans.

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confidence: 74%

“…Although animal studies of associative learning have provided considerable information on neurophysiological and neuroanatomical substrates (3)(4)(5)(6)(7), little is known about the neural systems involved in associative learning in humans.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A functional anatomical study of associative learning in humans.

Molchan

Sunderland

McIntosh

et al. 1994

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

257

161

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Classical conditioning is of interest to clinical researchers because in humans it is impaired with aging [48,49] and with Alzheimer's disease [44,50]. Our original work was designed, at least in part, to provide a baseline against which to assess the functional anatomical changes contributing to deterioration of learning and memory in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease [15,16].…”

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confidence: 99%

The Effects of Scopolamine on Changes in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow during Classical Conditioning of the Human Eyeblink Response

Bahro

Molchan²,

Sunderland³

et al. 1999

Neuropsychobiology

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We examined the effects of scopolamine on the functional anatomy of classical conditioning of the human eyeblink response. Ten healthy young normal female volunteers (mean age ± SEM: 26.7 ± 0.9 years) were administered 0.4 mg scopolamine intravenously 1 h before regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) and H₂¹⁵O. Scans occurred during three sequential phases: (1) explicitly unpaired presentations of the unconditioned stimulus (airpuff to the right eye) and conditioned stimulus (binaural tone), (2) paired presentations of the two stimuli (associative learning) and (3) explicitly unpaired presentation of the stimuli (extinction phase). Scopolamine impaired acquisition of the conditioned eyeblink response (54.7 ± 4.9%) relative to 18 untreated subjects from two previous PET studies. Regions that showed significant relative increases in rCBF during conditioning included the right lateral occipital cortex, the right inferior occipital cortex, the right lateral temporo-occipital cortex, the left medial temporo-occipital cortex, the posterior cingulate, the right cerebellum/brain stem area and the medial cerebellum. Significant relative decreases in rCBF were measured in the thalamus, the left putamen/insula area, the right putamen and the left and middle cerebellar cortex. The data partially replicate previous findings in unmedicated young volunteers of conditioning-specific rCBF changes in the cingulate cortex, the cerebellar cortex, the insula and the lateral temporo-occipital cortex. Our finding of decreased rCBF in the thalamus and increased rCBF in the occipital cortex may be attributable to effects of scopolamine per se rather than conditioning. Our data lend further support to the notion that classical conditioning involves distributed changes in multiple systems within the central nervous system.

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“…The demands on test subjects, the identical test procedure can be used in neonatal human infants as young as 10 to 20 days of age (44) or in senior citizens older than 80 years of age (45). Studies of eyeblink conditioning have also been carried out in aged rats (42) and rabbits (13,43). In fact, normal aging produces a decline in the rate of eyeblink conditioning in both human and animal subjects (in a certain proportion of the test population).…”

Section: Comparison Of Humans and Laboratory Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eyeblink conditioning in the infant rat: an animal model of learning in developmental neurotoxicology.

Stanton

Freeman

1994

Environ Health Perspect

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Classical conditioning of the eyeblink reflex is a relatively simple procedure for studying associative learning that was first developed for use with human subjects more than half a century ago. The use of this procedure in laboratory animals by psychologists and neuroscientists over the past 30 years has produced a powerful animal model for studying the behavioral and biological mechanisms of learning. As a result, eyeblink conditioning is beginning to be pursued as a very promising model for predicting and understanding human learning and memory disorders. Among the many advantages of this procedure are (a) the fact that it can be carried out in the same manner in both humans and laboratory animals; (b) the many ways in which it permits one to characterize changes in learning at the behavioral level; (c) the readiness with which hypotheses regarding the neurological basis of behavioral disorders can be formulated and tested; (d) the fact that it can be used in the same way across the life-span; and (e) its ability to distinguish, from normative groups, populations suffering from neurological conditions associated with impaired learning and memory, including those produced by exposure to neurotoxicants. In this article, we argue that these properties of eyeblink conditioning make it an excellent model system for studying early impairments of learning and memory in developmental neurotoxicology. We also review progress that has been made in our laboratory in developing a rodent model of infant eyeblink conditioning for this purpose. -Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl 2):131-139 (1994).

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Neurobiological Substrates of Classical Conditioning across the Life Span

Cited by 45 publications

References 83 publications

A functional anatomical study of associative learning in humans.

A functional anatomical study of associative learning in humans.

The Effects of Scopolamine on Changes in Regional Cerebral Blood Flow during Classical Conditioning of the Human Eyeblink Response

Eyeblink conditioning in the infant rat: an animal model of learning in developmental neurotoxicology.

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