Pavlovian Extinction and Recovery Effects in Aversive Pavlovian to Instrumental Transfer.

Vincent D Campese,Joseph E Ledoux,Ian T Kim,Gerardo Rojas

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00179

Abstract

Three studies explored the sensitivity of aversive Pavlovian to instrumental transfer (PIT) to Pavlovian extinction in rodents. Rats underwent Pavlovian conditioning prior to avoidance training. The PIT test then involved assessment of the effects of the Pavlovian conditioned stimulus (CS) on the performance of the avoidance response (AR). Conducting extinction prior to avoidance training and transfer testing, allowed spontaneous recovery and shock reinstatement of extinguished motivation, whereas conducting extinction following avoidance training and just prior to PIT testing successfully reduced transfer effects. This was also the case in a design that compared responding to an extinguished CS against a non-extinguished CS rather than comparing extinguished and non-extinguished groups to one another. While extinction treatments in many appetitive PIT studies do not successfully reduce transfer, and can sometimes enhance the effect, the current findings show that an extinction treatment temporally close to transfer testing can reduce the motivational impact of the aversive Pavlovian CS on instrumental avoidance responding.

Highlights

Studies of aversive Pavlovian conditioning demonstrate control over species-specific defensive responses (SSDRs: e.g., freezing) by a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) that has been paired with a shock unconditioned stimulus (US; Pavlov, 1927; Blanchard and Blanchard, 1972; Bolles and Fanselow, 1980)
The findings of this study replicate the aversive Pavlovian to instrumental transfer (PIT) effect with a CS for footshock, but do so using a within-subjects design. This procedure extends what is known about the underlying motivational substrates of aversive PIT by showing that footshock avoidance behavior can be modulated by a cue for an aversive event that is perceptually distinct from footshock
In the context of the current findings, this may suggest that the facilitation of footshock avoidance by a shock-paired CS can be understood in terms of sensory-specific processes whereas augmentation of responding by a klaxon-paired CS captures general motivational processes

Summary

Introduction

Studies of aversive Pavlovian conditioning demonstrate control over species-specific defensive responses (SSDRs: e.g., freezing) by a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) that has been paired with a shock unconditioned stimulus (US; Pavlov, 1927; Blanchard and Blanchard, 1972; Bolles and Fanselow, 1980). An aversive CS is capable of controlling the performance of goal-directed behaviors. This is illustrated by aversive Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT: Bolles and Popp, 1964; Rescorla and Lolordo, 1965; Rescorla, 1968; Weisman and Litner, 1969; Overmier and Payne, 1971; Overmier and Brackbill, 1977; Patterson and Overmier, 1981) and other related aversive instrumental learning phenomena (see LeDoux et al, 2016). Whereas an aversive CS normally produces freezing, if presented while performing a separately trained avoidance response (AR) the CS produces very little freezing and instead facilitates avoidance (see Campese et al, 2013)

Methods

Results

Conclusion