Habituation and [formula omitted]-noise

Abstract

Habituation is the reversible decrement in the behavior response to a novel and repeating stimulus without a corresponding change in the strength of the stimulus. Dishabituation is a complementary phenomenon in which a habituated process is revitalized by presenting a complex stimulus that is distinct from the original. Herein we propose a statistical habituation model (SHM); a phenomenological model based on a generalization of linear response theory and discrete events. The SHM suggests that the fundamental mechanism producing habituation in its myriad of forms, as well as the associated dishabituation, is the 1 / f -noise that is generically produced in complex neuronal networks.