Attention

Question 1

What is latent inhibition?

Answer 1

Describes how preexposure of a CS with a consequence impaired the subsequent ability of the the same CS to enter a conditioned association

Question 2

What is the effect of amphetamine during the condioting period on latent inhibition? Why?

Answer 2

Attenuates LI so that the CS is able to enter a conditioned association beucas eit changes animals ability to use previously acquired information

Question 3

What is the effect of haloperidol on latent inhibition?

Answer 3

Reverse the effect of amphetamines

LI = dopamine dependant

Question 4

What is kamin blocking?

Answer 4

Conditioning of one CS (CS1) to a US retards the subsequent conditioning to a second CS (CS2) presented as a compound with CS1. CS are of equal salience

I.e. Preconditioning with CS1 and US will attenuate the association of CS2 with the US and thus not produce the CR

Question 5

Why does kamin blocking occur?

Answer 5

Perhaps conditioning with the second CS provides no extra information. This mean on presentation of CS2 alone the CR will not be produced

Question 6

What is the effect of amphetamines of Karin blocking?

Answer 6

Will attenuate Karin blocking i.e. What was considered irrelevant is now relevant

Question 7

What is overshadowing?

Answer 7

When conditioning with CS1 and CS2 the activation will be made with the more salient of the two CS.

Question 8

What is pre pulse inhibition?

Answer 8

The response to a startling stimuli is attenuated when the stimulus is preceded by a similar stimulus of lower intensity

Question 9

What is the effect of amphetamines on pre pulse inhibition?

Answer 9

Cause a loss of PPI

Question 10

What is the effect of haloperidol in PPI?

Answer 10

Will reverse the effect of amphetamines

Question 11

What does PPI measure?

Answer 11

Sensory gating

Question 12

What is the effect of dopamine agonists on kamin blocking and latent inhibition?

Answer 12

It does not effect them. Therefore, because amphetamines attenuate both they must have different mechanism. Perhaps amphetamines amplify use dependant signals

Question 13

What is the effect of dopamine agonists on PPI?

Answer 13

Attenuates PPI similar to amphetamines

Question 14

What is the effect of dopamine on selective attention procedures?

Answer 14

Disrupted by increased dopamine

Enhanced by decreased dopamine

Question 15

What is the different between a novel and salient stimuli

Answer 15

Novel = interesting and new
Salient = important stimuli

Question 16

In terms of attention span when is the progression from small to large?

Answer 16

Hypodopaminergic
Normal
Hyperdopaminergic

Question 17

What does an increase in dopamine do to attention span?

Answer 17

It will increases it = more things would be considered salient and novel compared to a normal individual. E.g.normally latent inhibition would lead the preexposed CS would become ‘unimportant’. However, in a hyperdopaminergic system the CS will still be considered something of importance and something worth noting - why an association is able to from (falls under attention radar).

Question 18

What are the 3 main symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 18

Impulsiveness
Hyperactivity
Inattention

Question 19

What does ADHD mean for someone’s attention?

Answer 19

They are overly focused on certain stimuli tot he detrimental of other stimuli.
This focus may be placed on unimportant things but patients percieve them to be salient

Question 20

What is the deficit in ADHD?

Answer 20

Dopamine and noradrenaline in frontal striatal pathway

Question 21

What is the treatment for ADHD and why is it used?

Answer 21

methlyphenidate (acts to block the uptake of na/Da similar to amphetamines
Broadens their attention to a normal range so that other salient/novel stimuli can be focused on

Question 22

What affect does schizophrenia have on sensory gating and selective attention?

Answer 22

Loss of latent inhibition (learn equally about pre exposed stimulus to non preexposure stimulus)
Show disrupted kamin blocking (learn about both elements of a compound CS)
Disrupted pre pulse inhibition (pre pulse fails to attenuate strake response to main stimulus)

Question 23

What does the disruption in sensory gating and selective attention mean for schizophrenics?

Answer 23

All information coming in is focused upon and there is not enough cognitive power to process everything

Question 24

Do schizophrenic used pre learned information to guide their attention?

Answer 24

No, proved by loss of LI and Karin blocking

These are restored to normal by dopamine antagonists

Question 25

If dopamine is associative with euphoria/reward what would be expect schizophrenics to behave like?

Answer 25

We would expect them to be euphoric - this is not the case

Question 26

What is dopamine susceptible to be linked to? How does this link to schizophrenia/

Answer 26

Rise in dopamine within the NAc suspected to be due to the salience of a stimuli (whether that its good or bad) or stimuli associated with a salient stimuli. Dopamine overactivity would = formation of spurious salience attribution.

Question 27

What is spurious salience attribution thought to contribute to in schizophrenia?

Answer 27

Formation of delusion perceptions. Something which would normally not be considered salient will be given salient significance (spurious association)