LATENT INHIBITION IN MATCHING TO SAMPLES

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event LATENT INHIBITION IN MATCHING TO SAMPLES Benjamin Maher-Folkard1* and Stephen Provost1 1 Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia Aims: It has been well established that when an organism is pre exposed to a stimulus the pre-exposure delays learning of an association with the stimulus. This is known as latent inhibition (LI). LI has been observed in many different species however it has been difficult to observe in adult humans. It has been argued that LI in humans will only be obtained when a masking task is used. This makes it difficult to analyse in terms of associative models based upon animal research (e.g. the Rescorla-Wagner model of conditioning). Such analysis is critical for the understanding of the phenomena and its links to psychopathological conditions, as has been proposed to be the case for schizophrenia. Method: 24 participants performed a symbolic matching to samples (MTS) task on the computer, with one sample and three alternatives. The stimuli were Chinese characters. One group was pre exposed to each of the six cues five times. The control group observed different cues. After this both groups performed 216 trials of MTS. Results: Preliminary results indicate the group pre-exposed to different cues reached asymptote faster than the group exposed to the stimuli used in training. The different cue group also responded faster to the cues after asymptote was reached than the group exposed to the stimuli in training. Conclusion: LI was observed in a task with no masking, contradictory to current expectations. This finding may help to link learning models used in animal research with research into human learning. Implications of this finding include possible early detection of psychopathological conditions such as schizophrenia. The rate of learning observed will be compared with that predicted by associative models (e.g. Rescorla-Wagner). Keywords: Learning, Schizophrenia, latent inhibition, Masking task, Matching to Samples Conference: Southern Cross University 13th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, 7 Oct - 7 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Research Topic: Psychology Citation: Maher-Folkard B and Provost S (2016). LATENT INHIBITION IN MATCHING TO SAMPLES. Front. Public Health. Conference Abstract: Southern Cross University 13th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.02.00020 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 29 Sep 2016; Published Online: 30 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Mr. Benjamin Maher-Folkard, Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, b.maher-falkard.13@student.scu.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Benjamin Maher-Folkard Stephen Provost Google Benjamin Maher-Folkard Stephen Provost Google Scholar Benjamin Maher-Folkard Stephen Provost PubMed Benjamin Maher-Folkard Stephen Provost Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.