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I N Tveritskaya

Publications and source records attributed to I N Tveritskaya.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Hippocampal evoked potentials and EEG changes during classical conditioning in the rat.

Hippocampal evoked potentials (EPs) and EEG responses were studied in rats, using a classical conditioning paradigm (water, US), with a spatially discontiguous CS-US arrangement in order to separate the CS and goal-related responses. In early training, when the orienting score was high, the tone CS, instead of eliciting a definite EP, usually reset hippocampal theta activity in phase, i.e. theta rhythm became time-locked to CS. With further training, orienting activity (ORI) decreased to the preconditioning level, and this was associated with the recurrence of short-latency and high voltage hippocampal EPs, similar to those observed during habituation. This high voltage EP predicted that the animal would not orient any more towards CS. This correlation was confirmed by behavioural (satiation, shock US) and by pharmacological (scopolamine HBr, 2 mg/kg) treatments, all of which reduced the ORI score. Hippocampal EEGs also showed characteristic changes during conditioning. ORI towards CS was accompanied by higher frequency spectral peaks (9 c/sec) than response to US (7--8 c/sec). This correlation was seen both across sessions and within trials. We conclude that the above changes are related to orienting, attentional factors rather than to movement-related variables.

Animals

Auto-shaping or orienting?

Four experiments were carried out to study the development of the orienting response (OR) under different experimental conditions in the cat and rat. In Experiment I and II (cat) and Experiment IV (rat) classical CS-US pairing was used (with food, shock and water reinforcers, respectively). In Experiment III (cat) an instrumental pedal press response was brought under the control of a discriminative signal. In all four experiments the auditory CS was spatially discontiguous with reinforcement in order t o separate CS directed orienting responses from US related activities. Exposure to CS signalling food or water caused the animals to orient to it throughout conditioning (up to 700 trials) and this overt responding was absent if CS predicted aversive reinforcers. OR was consistently followed by goal (US) directed anticipatory activities. It is proposed that the CS directed auto-shaped response ("sign-tracking") is identical with the conditional orienting response, and that the spatio-temporal patterning of behaviors is influenced both by CS and US.

Animals