Lecture 3

Question 1

Startle Reflex

Answer 1

more complicated but still prewired
noise-> ear-> auditory nerve-> ventral cochlear nucleus-> ventral lateral meniscus-> Nucleus Reticularis Pontis Caudalis-> Ventral Horn of spinal cord-> motor neuron-> muscle
8 milliseconds
stimulate different neurons in pathway and you’ll still jump
longest time=longest neuron=ventral horn and muscle

Question 2

Reflexes

Answer 2

can involve brain
has many neurons
always gives same response, but response can be bigger or smaller depending on context

Question 3

Pavlov 1907

Answer 3

Stimulus specificity

ex. different foods trigger different reflexes

Question 4

Sensitization

Answer 4

non associative learning
first presentation causes a response of a certain magnitude, ensuing trials may have increased response
not universal, usually occurs in relatively strong stimuli

Question 5

Habituation

Answer 5

non associative learning
response becomes weaker and weaker with more trials
universal

Question 6

Groves & Thomson Two Process Theory of Habituation and Sensitization

Answer 6

habituation occurs in the SR system, through prewired circuits (neurons just start to fire less often because of neurotransmitter depletion)
sensitization occurs at the state system and affects the SR

Question 7

Twitmeyer Associative Learning

Answer 7

ring a bell and tap the patellar tendon
eventually ring the bell and knee would jerk
didn’t get recognition

Question 8

Pavlov

Answer 8

worked on digestion in dogs, accidentally discovered Pavlovian conditioning
Learning he saw was dependent on two stimuli
Gave us vocabulary to talk about this kind of learning

Question 9

Unconditional Stimulus

Answer 9

something that causes a response unconditionally ex. nausea makes you feel sick, ex. eating food makes you salivate

Question 10

Conditional Stimulus

Answer 10

something that only causes a certain response when linked to a different stimulus
ex. bell causes you to salivate if you link the bell with food