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Results for “Association Learning”

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PubMed1975

Ego strength and confidence thresholds in two methods of paired-associate learning.

Two experiments contrasted the effects of high and low wgo strength (as measured by Cattell's Sixteen Personality Factor Questionaire) on confidence thresholds (FG scores) under the anticipation and recall methods. High ego strength resulted in larger FG scores under the anticipation method- weakly so in Experiment I but significantly so in Experiment II, where subjects were selected from greater extremes of ego strength. This inferiority extended to trails to criterion and a measure of the associative-learning stage as well. Tasks for extending the generality of the obtained relationship of ego strength and confidence thresholds in paired-associate learning are suggested.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Deficits in non-spatial conditional associative learning after periarcuate lesions in the monkey.

Monkeys with lesions of the periarcuate region of the frontal cortex were severely impaired in learning a nonspatial conditional associative task. In this task, either one of two non-spatial responses (open the lit or the unlit box) was correct if emitted in the presence of the appropriate stimulus. In contrast, the periarcuate monkeys were able to learn, at a normal rate, the control tasks in which only one of the two responses was correct (e.g., go to the lit box), the animal's task being to emit this response when the cue to do so was given. These findings support the hypothesis that the periarcuate cortex is critically involved in conditional associative learning.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Associative learning in a network model of Hermissenda crassicornis. I. Theory.

A time-varying Resistance-Capacitance (RC) circuit computer model was constructed based on known membrane and synaptic properties of the visual-vestibular network of the marine snail Hermissenda crassicornis. Specific biophysical properties and synaptic connections of identified neurons are represented as lumped parameters (circuit elements) in the model; in the computer simulation, differential equations are approximated by difference equations. The model's output, membrane potential, an indirect measure of firing frequency, closely parallels the behavioral and electrophysiologic outputs of Hermissenda in response to the same input stimuli presented during and after associative learning. The parallelism of the computer modeled and the biologic outputs suggests that the model captures the features necessary and sufficient for associative learning.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Conditional associative learning in drug-free schizophrenic patients.

The performance on spatial and nonspatial associative learning tasks was tested in a sample of male drug-free DSM III-diagnosed schizophrenic patients and in a closely matched normal control group. Schizophrenics showed a worse performance on both versions of the task, but especially on the nonspatial one. A significant correlation was observed between some indices of the nonspatial task and the scores on two subscales (affective flattening and anhedonia) of the scale for the assessment of negative symptoms by Andreasen. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of a dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia and with the postulated linkage between such dysfunction and negative schizophrenic symptomatology.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Age-related changes in associative learning: studies in rabbits and rats.

Two experimental models for studying age-related changes in associative learning are described. One involves classical (Pavlovian) conditioning of eyeblink and heart rate in the rabbit. The second involves Pavlovian leg flexion and heart rate conditioning in the rat. Advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed. Results with both models suggest differential effects of aging on acquisition of autonomic and somatomotor responses, thus underlining the utility of assessing multiple response systems to adequately characterize age-related changes in learning and memory.

Aging↗

PubMed1986

Presentation rate effects on paired associate learning by attention deficit disordered children.

2 methods of varying presentation rate during paired associate learning were contrasted in attention deficit disordered (ADD) children. Previous studies have varied presentation rate across different (fixed rate) lists, and they have demonstrated that ADD children perform poorly at slower rates. In the present study, this method of presentation was contrasted with one in which half the items within a single list were presented at a fast rate and half at a slow rate. The debilitating effect of the slow rate was obtained in ADD children (but not in normal controls) only with the fixed list method. This finding suggests that the rate effects occur in ADD children because they are vulnerable to the experimental context created when items are presented at a slow rate over an extended time period.

Attention↗

PubMed1989

Structure from stereo by associative learning of the constraints.

A computational model of structure from stereo that develops smoothness constraints naturally by associative learning of a large number of example mappings from disparity data to surface depth data is proposed. Banks of disparity-selective graded response units at all spatial locations in the visual field were the input data. These cells responded to matches of luminance change at convergent, divergent, or zero offsets in the left and right 'retina' samples. Surfaces were created by means of a pseudo-Markov process. From these surfaces, shaded marked and ummarked surfaces were created, along with random-dot versions of the same surfaces. Learning of these example shaded and shaded marked surfaces allowed the system to solve stereo mappings both for the surfaces it had learned and for surfaces it had not learned but which had been created by the same pseudo-Markov process. Further, the model was able to solve some random-dot versions of the surfaces when the surfaces had been learned as shaded marked surfaces.

Association Learning↗

PubMed1979

Verbal vs. nonverbal and complex vs. simple responses in the paired-associate learning of poor readers.

The relative ability of 38 fourth-grade boys, good and poor readers, to learn paired-associate lists requiring either verbal or nonverbal responses was assessed with four different tasks. Two of the tasks required either simple or complex verbal responses, while the other two involved learning simple and complex oral, nonverbal responses. The stimuli for all tasks were letter-like visual figures drawn on cards. The good readers learned more efficiently overall, but the major differences between reading groups occurred on the tasks requiring verbal responses.

Child↗

PubMed1985

A test of the differences between anticipation and study-test methods of paired-associate learning.

The identity model proposes that anticipation and study-test methods of paired-associate learning differ little in basic acquisition, retrieval, and storage processes per event: study, test, and intervening study and test events of other items plus the intercycle interval. The major difference between the two methods boils down to differential short-term loss over the differential retention interval. When the study-test interval is equated, the identity model predicts no difference between the methods. However, the feedback model predicts superiority for the anticipation method, and the differential acquisition, context effect, or task alternation models predict superiority for the study-test method. An experimental test utilized (nearly) identical study-test intervals, various materials, and both massed and spaced practice. In 15 out of 16 comparisons, there was no difference between the methods, providing support for the identity model. Within limits, the greater the study-test interval differentials, the greater the advantage for the method with the shorter study-test intervals. Quantitative analyses support the identity model.

Feedback↗

PubMed1985

Selective impairment of paired associate learning after administration of a centrally-acting adrenergic agonist (clonidine).

Eight normal volunteers had IV infusions of 200 micrograms clonidine (a centrally-acting adrenergic agonist which reduces noradrenaline release), and saline in a "double-blind" cross-over design. Clonidine reduced subjective estimates of arousal but did not affect performance on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Clonidine impaired paired-associate learning, but it did not affect performance on a number of measures of short and long term memory. The findings suggest either 1) that there is a specific (adrenergic) mechanism involved in the acquisition of novel associations, but not in other types of learning, or 2) that paired associate learning is more vulnerable than other learning tasks to disruption of adrenergic transmission.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

PubMed1989

Nimodipine facilitates associative learning in aging rabbits.

Nimodipine is one of several dihydropyridines that block calcium channels. Originally administered to improve cerebral blood flow in elderly patients with chronic cerebrovascular disorders, nimodipine was noted to facilitate learning. These observations led to the present investigation of the effects of nimodipine on associative learning in aging rabbits. Nimodipine accelerated acquisition of conditioned eye-blink in both young and aging rabbits without altering the amplitude of responses to the conditioned or unconditioned stimuli or causing nonspecific responding. Thus, nimodipine may be a candidate for an effective treatment for age-related learning deficits.

Aging↗

PubMed1976

Motor activity, anticipated motor activity, and young children's associative learning.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether motor activity, previously assumed necessary to induce imagery in young children's associative learning, actually has to be executed. The results of our experiment with kindergartners clearly suggest not: In conditions where subjects simply planned to the potential motor activity (without executing it), learning was enhanced. Further, the temporal proximity of the planning to the potential motor activity did not prove to be important. These results, combined with those from 2 follow-up experiments, give rise to the speculation--among others--that young children can be "tricked" into imagery generation through appropriately worded instructions.

Association Learning↗

PubMed1988

Associative learning modifies two behaviors in the leech, Hirudo medicinalis.

We report that 2 behaviors, stepping and shortening, are modified by associative learning in the leech, Hirudo medicinalis. Experiment 1 explored conditioning of the "stepping" response. Paired presentations of touch to the medial dorsal surface of the leech and shock to the tail of the leech resulted in the development of stepping to the touch. Leeches in control groups experiencing the CS alone, US alone, or explicitly unpaired presentations of the CS and US did not. In experiments 2-4, classical conditioning explored conditioning of the touch-elicited shortening reflex. We found that the reflex was enhanced following paired CS-US presentations but not following CS alone, US alone, or explicitly unpaired presentations of the stimuli. Moreover, the learning was extinguished following 15 unreinforced presentations of the CS but was retained for at least 24 hr without extinction training. Moreover, the associative effect was not evident when the CS and US were presented in a backward relationship. That is, no learning was observed when the US preceded the CS. Lastly, the hand-held stimuli were replaced with implanted electrodes. Using a 3 V pulse that mimicked the touch stimulus (CS), we found that paired CS-US presentations produced a significant enhancement in the shortening reflex. Again, no enhancement was observed following unpaired CS, US presentations.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

Taste aversions to mother's milk: the age-related role of nursing in acquisition and expression of a learned association.

The development of taste aversion learning to novel cues contained in mother's milk was examined in rat pups. Pups receiving distinctive mild by experimenter-delivered oral infusions followed by toxicosis formed an aversion to the dam's diet. Robust aversions were learned as early as Day 10 and were retained for at least 11 days. When the same distinctive milk was obtained directly from a foster mother through nursing, however, only weanling-age pups (over 20 days) formed an aversion. X-ray analysis of nipple location in the mouths of suckling pups suggested that pups between the ages of 10 and 21 days receive milk at a similar tongue locus. Flavored milk was then delivered at specific time intervals in controlled quantities through tongue cannulas implanted at loci corresponding to the nipple position shown by the X-rays. Cannulated preweanling pups that were attached to a nipple during milk delivery failed to associate the taste cue with illness, whereas both preweanlings off the nipple and weanlings on the nipple acquired aversions to the taste cue in the milk. The evidence obtained in these experiments suggests that pups of all ages are incapable of expressing a taste aversion in a nursing situation and that preweanling pups in particular are also dificient in acquiring aversions within a suckling context. The inability of preweanling pups to acquire taste aversions in a nursing situation appears to result from a failure to associate taste cues with illness rather than a failure to detect taste cues obtained from a nipple.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1992

Interaction of instructions with the recall strategy actually used in a paired-associates learning task.

Previous research suggests that interactive imagery produces memory performance superior to separation imagery, although the effects of instructions are less clear. Paired-associate learning was used to examine the effects of instructions (general memory, separation imagery, and interactive imagery) on recall, the frequency of using memory strategies (nonimaginal, separate image, and interactive image), and strategies' effectiveness. The numbers of correctly recalled items were fewer for subjects given general memory instructions than for subjects given separation or interactive imagery instructions which were not different from each other. Subjects reported using a variety of strategies. However, subjects given separation imagery instructions were more likely to report an interactive image than a separate image, and equally as likely to use interactive imagery as subjects given interactive imagery instructions. The present data suggest that subjects can effectively use a variety of memory strategies.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Single-cell neuronal model for associative learning.

Recently, a novel cellular mechanism, activity-dependent neuromodulation, was identified in sensory neurons mediating the gill and tail withdrawal reflexes in Aplysia. This mechanism may explain associative learning on a behavioral level. The present study was designed to mathematically model subcellular events that may underlie this mechanism and to examine the ability of the model to fit available empirical data. In this associative model, the reinforcing or unconditioned stimulus (US) leads to non-specific enhancement of transmitter release from sensory neurons by activating a cAMP cascade. Spike activity in sensory neurons, the conditioned stimulus (CS), transiently elevates intracellular Ca2+. The CS-triggered increases of intracellular Ca2+ "primes" the cyclase and amplifies the US-mediated cAMP synthesis. As a result of pairing specific amplification of cAMP levels, transmitter release is enhanced beyond that produced by unpaired stimuli or by application of the US alone. The model is capable of fitting empirical data on activity-dependent neuromodulation and predicts a characteristic interstimulus interval (ISI) curve. At the subcellular level, the model's ISI function is related to the time course of the buffering of intracellular Ca2+. The magnitude and duration of the pairing specific enhancement of transmitter release is related to the levels and time course of intracellular cAMP stimulation.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1985

Input and output changes of an identified neural pathway are correlated with associative learning in Hermissenda.

The effect of associative training on an identified putative motoneuron (MN1) in an identified visual input-output neural pathway was studied in Hermissenda crassicornis. The increased impulse frequency of the MN1 cell in response to a light step (MN1-LR) was found to be smaller up to 54 hr after associative training with paired light and rotation stimuli. No change was found in animals which received these training stimuli randomly. The MN1 activity in darkness, namely, baseline impulse frequency, spike amplitude, input resistance, and resting potential, did not change after training. The MN1-LR was positively correlated on retention days with the behavioral latency of the animal to enter the illuminated area of a light intensity gradient. However, the input resistance of the type B photoreceptor was inversely correlated with this behavioral latency as well as with MN1-LR. These findings suggest that the reduction of MN1-LR may be caused by the biophysical changes which have been found in the type B photoreceptor membrane. Furthermore, these findings support several other studies which indicate that specific biophysical changes in the type B photoreceptor membrane play a causal role in the observed behavioral modifications after associative training in Hermissenda.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Paired associate learning in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.

A study was conducted to examine the potential explicit learning ability in senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) as a function of (1) the difficulty of the to-be-remembered material and (2) the severity of the dementia. The Associate Learning task from the Wechsler Memory Scale was administered to healthy older adults and individuals with questionable, mild, and moderate SDAT. Individuals with SDAT showed poorer learning performance across trials than healthy older adults. Individuals with questionable and mild SDAT did show evidence for learning across trials for highly related paired associates. For unrelated-paired associates, however, only individuals with questionable SDAT showed some evidence for increased learning across trials.

Alzheimer Disease↗