This project explores the associative mechanisms of temporal integration in rats. The goal of the proposed research is to test the hypothesis that complex temporal representations can be built through the integration of simple associations that share a common element. One test will replicate and extend previous conditioned-suppression experiments supporting the temporal coding hypothesis of Pavlovian conditioning (e.g., Barnet et al., 1997; Matzel et al., 1988) procedures utilizing appetitive conditioning which allows direct measures of interval timing. The conditioned-suppression procedure does not allow the direct assessment of interval timing in the subject's behavior, and thus can only provide indirect evidence for temporal integration. Using the appetitive procedure we may determine whether CS A will evoke magazine entry at the computed A-food interval after separate A-->B and B-->food pairings. A second test will develop a procedure to assess temporal-integration effects in steady-state behavior using a modified Pavlovian conditioned inhibition procedure. A steady-state procedure will be useful for future studies that plan to investigate the neural mechanisms that contribute to the integration of temporal information. This work will advance and more firmly establish the integration rules of the temporal coding hypothesis as a necessary preparatory step toward exploring the role of brain mechanisms in temporal mapping and inferential behavior based on higher-order temporal representations. ? ?
| Roberts, Seth (2010) The unreasonable effectiveness of my self-experimentation. Med Hypotheses 75:482-9 |
| Stahlman, W David; Blaisdell, Aaron P (2009) Blocking of spatial control by landmarks in rats. Behav Processes 81:114-8 |
| Leising, Kenneth J; Sawa, Kosuke; Blaisdell, Aaron P (2007) Temporal integration in Pavlovian appetitive conditioning in rats. Learn Behav 35:11-8 |
