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Classical Conditioning with Auditory Discrimination of the Eye Blink in Decerebrate Cats

SciencePublished 29 April 1977
Robert J. Norman, Jennifer S. Buchwald, Jaime R. Villablanca
Citations166
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score10.42
SNIP6.62

TL;DR

The results support the notion that the brainstem reticular formation can support a conditioned response which isbehaviorally similar to that obtained in the intact animal.

Abstract

Cats were subjected to complete lower brainstem transection, and were then tested for learning ability according to a classical conditioning paradigm. An auditory stimulus was systematically paired with a brief shock to the eyelid. Within a few weeks after the operation, the decerebrate cats could learn the conditioned response with a tone frequency discrimination and then a discrimination reversal. Our results support the notion that the brainstem reticular formation can support a conditioned response which isbehaviorally similar to that obtained in the intact animal.

Keywords

PsychologyNeuroscience