Learning and Memory

the acquisition of cognitive and behavioral information

the process of learning associations between a stimulus, and some type of response to that stimulus

Classical conditioning - the process of learning to associate a stimulus with a physiological response that, before learning this association, the same stimulus would not have elicited this same physiological response. The elicited physiological response for classical conditioning tends to be reflexive or involuntary or autonomic 2) Operant conditioning - the process of learning to associate a stimulus with a response, and the consequence(s) of the response. The response for operant conditioning tends to be some type of voluntary behavior. In addition, the consequence(s) of the voluntary behavior may help to determine whether the same voluntary behavior will be repeated in the future

observations of other people’s behaviors, along with the observations of the consequences of their behaviors, will influence the likelihood of whether the observer have learned what they observed

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – the stimulus that, when presented, elicits an autonomic response without the need for prior learning Neutral Stimulus (NS) – the stimulus that, when presented, normally does not elicit the autonomic response, as seen with that of the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – the former neutral stimulus (NS), that, after successful acquisition of conditioning with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), elicits an autonomic response similar to that produced by presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) alone

Conditioned Response (CR) – the autonomic response elicited by the presentation of the conditioned stimulus (CS) alone Unconditioned Response (UCR) – the autonomic response elicited by the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) alone, without the need for prior learning

Maintenance of CR – the conditioned response (CR) is continually demonstrated (this requires the presentation of the UCS too) Extinction of CR - the gradual weakening and apparent disappearance of the conditioned response (CR) when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is continually not presented with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Spontaneous recovery of CR – after extinction, the immediate reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response (CR) occurs due to the re-presentation of the original conditioned stimulus (CS) with the re-presentation of the original unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

Long term potentiation (LTP) - a stable and long lasting increase in the effectiveness of synapses due to repeated “strong” potentiations of a neuron LTP can result in synaptic plasticity (anatomical changes of the synaptic area) relatively early during conditioning One of the anatomical changes of neurons undergoing LTP is the neuron’s ability to form new extensions on their dendrites, called dendritic spines These new formations may be implicated for what this “conditioned” neuron now responds to

a “classically conditioned” dislike for, or avoidance of, a particular food that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food We are born with innate cognitions of what we need, or of what is good for us: “rewards” this is an innate, predisposed style of conditioning

a phenomenon during which exposure to what is perceived as “inescapable” and “uncontrollable” aversive events (contemporary conditioned stimulus or “CS”) produces “passive” conditioned behaviors (contemporary conditioned response or “CR”)

Most everyday behaviors involve non-autonomic behavioral responses, or voluntary behavioral responses, that cannot always be explained with classical conditioning

Edward Thorndike was one of the first to experimentally study voluntary behaviors, and consequential thinking Thorndike coined the “Law of Effect”: within an environment, when a voluntary behavior produces satisfying effects, this will likely occur again in the same environment, while voluntary behaviors that produce non-satisfying effects will less likely occur again in the same environment

Voluntary behavior that produces consequences The consequence of the operant can be positive, to increase the likelihood of that voluntary behavioral response being repeated, or negative, to decrease the likelihood of that voluntary behavioral response being repeated

increase the likelihood of the behavior being repeated

Positive reinforcement – an environment during which a voluntary behavior, or operant, leads to the consequence of the delivery of a positively reinforcing stimulus Negative reinforcement – an environment during which a voluntary behavior, or operant, leads to the consequence of the removal of, avoidance of, or an escape from, an aversive reinforcing stimulus

decrease the likelihood of the voluntary behavior being repeated

Positive punishment – an environment during which a voluntary behavior, or operant, leads to the consequence of the delivery of an aversive reinforcing stimulus Negative punishment – an environment during which a voluntary behavior, or operant, leads to the consequence of the removal of a positive reinforcing stimulus

the environment in this case is an experimental apparatus invented by BF Skinner to study the relationship between operants (voluntary behaviors), and the consequences of those operants

1) an environment conducive to acquiring, and maintaining, operant conditioning 2) operant (voluntary behavior) 3) consequence of the operant (can increase or decrease the likelihood of the operant being repeated)

Fixed-ratio (FR) schedule Variable-ratio (VR) schedule Fixed-interval (FI) schedule Variable-Interval (VI) schedule

Fixed-ratio (FR) schedule – a fixed and predictable reinforcement schedule, during which a reinforcer is delivered at, or immediately after, a fixed number of operants Fixed-interval (FI) schedule - a fixed and predictable reinforcement schedule, during which a reinforcer is delivered only at, or immediately after, a preset time interval has elapsed

Variable-ratio (VR) schedule - a varied and unpredictable reinforcement schedule, during which a reinforcer is delivered at, or immediately after, an average number of operants Variable-interval (VI) schedule - a varied and unpredictable reinforcement schedule, during which a reinforcer is delivered at, or immediately after, an average time interval

unified mental representation of the spatial environment to support memory and help guide future behaviors