Early Experience and Incentive Relativity in Adulthood

Lucas Cuenya,Alba E Mustaca,Giselle Kamenetzky

doi:10.46867/ijcp.2014.27.03.03

Abstract

Human and animal studies have shown the long-lasting impact of early life experiences on the development of individual differences in stress responsiveness in later life. Despite the numerous works that evaluate the effect of early experiences on different behavioral paradigms, which for the most part are related to aversive situations, there are few studies that assess the effects on the unexpected downshift or omission of positive rewards. The purpose of this article is to present several independent lines of research into how frustration responses during adulthood may be influenced by early experiences. Very few works have been found on the subject, and in most cases the results were negative or controversial. However, more recent investigations suggest that the responses in adults to frustration or euphoria may be modulated by early experiences.

Highlights

Human and animal studies have shown the long-lasting impact of early life experience on the development of individual differences in stress responsiveness in later life
Despite the numerous works that evaluate the effect of early experience on different behavioral paradigms, which for the most part are related to aversive situations, there are few studies that assess the effects on the unexpected downshift or omission of rewards
The majority of studies evaluate the effect of early experience on behavioral paradigms related to aversive situations; only a few studies assess the effects of early experience on the unexpected downshift or omission of rewards

Summary

Introduction

Human and animal studies have shown the long-lasting impact of early life experience on the development of individual differences in stress responsiveness in later life. Different procedures are employed to produce frustration responses, including the total elimination of a reward (extinction), a change of a preferred reward for a less preferred one (contrast effects), a reduction of the reinforcement rate, or an introduction of an impediment or barrier to reach the reward (e.g., Hull, 1943) These methods do not apply aversive stimuli, numerous investigations show that these protocols instigate behavioral and neurophysiological responses similar to reactions prompted by the presentation or anticipation of aversive events. A series of studies related to pharmacological and environmental treatments during infancy and adolescence and their influence on incentive relativity are included, together with designs that evaluate the effect of total or partial reward devaluation (i.e., extinction and negative contrast), random presentation of rewards and extinction (i.e., partial reinforcement), and surprising reward upshift (i.e., positive contrast), either in instrumental or consummatory procedures

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Conclusion