Cognitive-enhancing Drugs and Eyeblink Classical Conditioning

Abstract

Eyeblink classical conditioning is of demonstrated utility in preclinical tests of cognition-enhancing drugs. A concern expressed about existing behavioral screening techniques is the poor control of psychological mechanisms that might underlie facilitated performance. Eyeblink classical conditioning is a behavioral paradigm that is well understood, and there are experimental controls and measures to distinguish between effects of perception, motivation, motor functions, and associative learning that have been elaborated extensively. In addition to its parallels with human behavior, a major advantage of using the animal model of eyeblink classical conditioning over the behavioral models commonly used in preclinical trials is that the neural circuitry is almost completely understood. The neurobiological basis of eyeblink classical conditioning in humans is similar to the circuitry demonstrated in non-human mammals (see Volume I on Eyeblink Classical Conditioning: Applications in Humans). Thus, using the eyeblink classical conditioning paradigm in preclinical pharmacological studies of cognition-enhancement has clear and direct implications for cognition-enhancement in humans.