Inhibition of fear-potentiated startle can be detected after the offset of a feature trained in a serial feature-negative discrimination.
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
; 23(1): 3-14, 1997 Jan.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9008859
ABSTRACT
Using the fear-potentiated startle paradigm in rats, 4 experiments examined whether the inhibitory effect of a feature is evident after its offset following serial feature-negative discrimination training (A+ and X-->A-). When startle probes were presented shortly after the offset of X on X-->A test trials, the inhibitory properties of X were observed immediately after its offset. Furthermore, trace reinforcement of X (X-->+), but not delay reinforcement (X+), disrupted the ability of X to inhibit fear-potentiated startle on X-->A trials. Trace conditioning to X was also retarded after A+ and X-->A- training. These results suggest that the inhibitory properties of the serially trained feature are present after its offset and raise the possibility that either temporal information regarding nonreinforcement or poststimulus attributes of X acquire inhibitory properties.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Reflex, Startle
/
Conditioning, Psychological
/
Discrimination, Psychological
/
Fear
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process
Year:
1997
Document type:
Article