TY - JOUR
T1 - Bridging the interval
T2 - Theory and neurobiology of trace conditioning
AU - Raybuck, Jonathan D.
AU - Lattal, K. Matthew
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - An early finding in the behavioral analysis of learning was that conditioned responding weakens as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) are separated in time. This "trace" conditioning effect has been the focus of years of research in associative learning. Theoretical accounts of trace conditioning have focused on mechanisms that allow associative learning to occur across long intervals between the CS and US. These accounts have emphasized degraded contingency effects, timing mechanisms, and inhibitory learning. More recently, study of the neurobiology of trace conditioning has shown that even a short interval between the CS and US alters the circuitry recruited for learning. Here, we review some of the theoretical and neurobiological mechanisms underlying trace conditioning with an emphasis on recent studies of trace fear conditioning. Findings across many studies have implications not just for how we think about time and conditioning, but also for how we conceptualize fear conditioning in general, suggesting that circuitry beyond the usual suspects needs to be incorporated into current thinking about fear, learning, and anxiety.
AB - An early finding in the behavioral analysis of learning was that conditioned responding weakens as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) are separated in time. This "trace" conditioning effect has been the focus of years of research in associative learning. Theoretical accounts of trace conditioning have focused on mechanisms that allow associative learning to occur across long intervals between the CS and US. These accounts have emphasized degraded contingency effects, timing mechanisms, and inhibitory learning. More recently, study of the neurobiology of trace conditioning has shown that even a short interval between the CS and US alters the circuitry recruited for learning. Here, we review some of the theoretical and neurobiological mechanisms underlying trace conditioning with an emphasis on recent studies of trace fear conditioning. Findings across many studies have implications not just for how we think about time and conditioning, but also for how we conceptualize fear conditioning in general, suggesting that circuitry beyond the usual suspects needs to be incorporated into current thinking about fear, learning, and anxiety.
KW - Amygdala
KW - Consolidation
KW - Fear
KW - Hippocampus
KW - Learning theory
KW - Memory
KW - Neurobiology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84894232849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84894232849&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.08.016
DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.08.016
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24036411
AN - SCOPUS:84894232849
SN - 0376-6357
VL - 101
SP - 103
EP - 111
JO - Behavioural Processes
JF - Behavioural Processes
ER -