Week 10

This week in Behavioral Neuroscience we discussed learning and memory. The very first thing to know about this week’s topic is there really isn’t a difference between learning and memory. As Eric stated in class “learning is altering memory and memorizing is learning.”

Learning is categorized as Associative and Non-Associative but some neuroscientists have a problem with that. Our nervous system utilizes time and space as the two primary factors for it to function. This means that everything sensed and perceived has a “timestamp” which means it is associated with that time. In this way it may not be possible for anything to be Non-Associative.

Whether you agree with Non-Associative learning or not all learning depends on habituation. Habituation is defined as “a decrease in responding based on repetition of experience.” Habituation is the reason you were enjoying your music in the car at a “reasonable volume” last night but then in the morning when you turn your car on the music is blaring. The previous night you habituated to the volume and increased it incrementally over the car ride as you desired. However, when you re-entered the car you had not habituated to the music again and it was much too loud. Habituation must be present for one to say learning has occurred. Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior based on experience.

If habituation exists as a change in behavior then there is probably a change in behavior that is a sort of opposite of habituation. There is and it is called sensitization. Sensitization is defined as an increase in responding based on experience with new information. Sensitization and habituation are the only things that could be considered Non-Associative learning.

Classical conditioning is the simplest form of learning. In classical conditioning there is a stimulus that will elicit a response that is natural and does not have to be taught. This is called an unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR). The learning is involved when a second stimulus (known as the conditioned stimulus or CS)  is present for the UR . Now that US is enough to elicit the unconditioned response but now it is called a conditioned response (CR) because it is elicited by the CS.  Classical conditioning has five different components which are acquisition, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery.  Acquisition is taking on a new conditioned response or behavior that is connected to a conditioned stimulus in the environment. Generalization is expressing this behavior for stimuli that are similar to but not exactly the same as the conditioned stimulus the behavior was acquired for. Discrimination is a lack of responding to stimuli with the CR because they are too different from the CS. Extinction is a reduction in responding with the CR based on new experience with the CS. Spontaneous recovery is a resume in CR after time has passed after extinction.