Abstract
Rats were used in a conditioned taste-aversion procedure to examine the effects of extinction of a blocking CS-US association prior to the compound conditioning trials. Rats were initially given a pairing of a vinegar flavor with LiCl. Some subjects then received three extinction trials with the vinegar flavor, and other subjects were given water. Subjects were then given compound stimulus conditioning trials in which a novel sucrose flavor, the target stimulus, was followed by vinegar and then a LiCl injection. The test on sucrose revealed a blocking effect for the subjects that did not receive the extinction trials, and blocking was attenuated for subjects that received extinction with vinegar. Also, prior to compound conditioning, some animals received a presentation of LiCl in the absence of any flavor—that is, US reinstatement. The results stemming from this treatment replicated a previous finding that US reinstatement treatment alters the ability of an extinguished CS to limit manifest learning about another association.
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Support for this research was provided by Research Council funds provided by the University of Missouri-Columbia. We thank M. Bourne, B. Butchart, J. Chelonis, and M. McEwen for their assistance with this project. We thank D. Wright for the use of his drinking tubes and S. Reilly for critically reading an early version of the paper.
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Gustavson, K.K., Hart, J.A., Calton, J.L. et al. Effects of extinction and US reinstatement of a blocking CS-US association. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 30, 247–250 (1992). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330457
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330457