Module 1 Flashcards
Aggression can be displayed due to;
Fear Disease Predatory patterns Frustration Conflicting emotions
Factors affecting new learning
- Pain
- other disease (may inhibit memory consolidation)
- Age
- Sleep amounts and types - can affect concentration, function consolidation of hippocampus
- Stress (cortisol impacts on hippocampal function)
-Exercise (stress, species, appropriate exercise)
-Medications (may inhibit memory consolidation) - Diet/nutrition
Context of learning experience
Types of learning
- overshadowing
- Blocking
- Saliency
- Long term potentiation/frequency
- contiguity
- preparedness
Latent inhibition aka cs pre-exposure
is the ability of a pre-exposed nonreinforced stimulus to inhibit later stimulus-response learning
Change the context around the CS and new learning can occur
US Pre-exposure
the result of a subject’s exposure to and familiarization with an unconditioned stimulus before the beginning of a conditioning trial. Familiarization slows the development of a conditioned response to the unconditioned stimulus.
CS needs to be changed to allow learning to occur
Associated Long Term Potentiation
Learning about other stimuli at the same time as the main stimulus
purpose of associated memories
to know whether to approach or avoid
Advantages of using SD
- can prevent frustration
- learning is more predictable
- can be speed up learning
- has the potential to limit behaviour change/reduce responses if later training not practiced without the SD
Perceptual learning
the process by which the ability of our sensory systems respond to stimuli is improved for the long term through practice or experience
Form of non-associative learning
attentional weighting
learning what to pay more attention to in the environment
Compound stimuli
compound stimulus is greater then the sum of its parts
can be outside the realm of our abilities to recognise which may hinder cc
need to identify as many pieces of stimuli, work on them individually and then put them back together again
Observational learning
aka - social learning, observational conditioning , modeling
Type of associative learning
Pedagogy Hypothesis
How you learn and who you learn from in humans
3 elements of pedagogy hypothesis
Ostension
- communicating about future communicative action
Reference
- Willingness to follow another’s directing cues
Relevance
- expectancy of the learn that the information provided is relevant
2 other factors in observational learning
Preparedness
Contingency
Neurotransmitter important in attention
Acetylcholine
can affect observational learning
Flow model
The level of challenge posed by a task and the skills of the individual faced with it, are critical to the emotional experience associated with the task performance
- unchallenging tasks can cause boredom/apathy
- challenging tasks can cause anxiety (if the skill set isn’t there)
- When a task and skill level are well met the individual becomes absorbed in the task and experiences a state of ecstasy, pleasure or satisfaction referred to as flow
important factors affecting acetylcholine and aggression
Age
CCD - Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome
- It’s the main NT involved in the disease process, dogs can become aggressive due to loss of memory and disorientation,
SD’s - acetylcholine’s function in ‘paying attention’ and theta activity in the hippocampus affects memory consolidation meaning it has a crucial role in context specific learning
Poor acetylcholine function may lead to generalisation of aggression rather then the undesired behaviour bein context depended.
Why might acetylcholine be an issue for some dogs
Vegan diet
Poor nutrition ( carbohydrate rich, poor meat quality)
Disease e.g. dementia
Age
Medication - antihistamines, beta blockers, TC’s
how can you enhance the formation of new long term memories during a counterconditioning training session?
using scent work during the session
Taking breaks
have a couple of days or at least a few hours off in between sessions
what impacts leaning ?
conditioned inhibition/learned irrelevance CS pre-exposure UCS pre-exposure Poor sleep chronic stress information overload
Creating a ‘new’ owner for the dog - one that is predictable, kind, undemanding, clear, consistent and valuable
what approach can we take ?
Use empathetic listening - what does the client really want?
What is their personality type? - how quickly/easily do they want it?
Avoid LTP - accurately identify triggers and associated management changes should aim for close to 100% problem resolution in the first 3-5 days
Introduce new relationship building activities - unrelated to the behaviour problem, based on the client and the dogs desires and motivations
Self confidence, self control and problem solving/enrichment
non frustrating species appropriate problem solving can reduce stress, increase neural plasticity (ultimately improving working memory capacity and input) improving the ‘learning to learn’ ability as well as improving focus, building self confidence and self control
Methods of new learning
Desensitisation - only for ‘in the moment of a new experience
Extinction - subject to marked frustration
Blocking reconsolidation - difficult to achieve practically
Training and alternative behaviour - possibly but being aware of conditioned suppression and the potential for spontaneous recovery as underlying emotional motivation not changed
Counter conditioning - considered the most effective way to change emotional motivation
mesolimbic system in 1 of the 4 main dopamine circuits in the brain…..
runs predominantly through the mid-brain, not concerned with conscious input, is more reflexive
Controls individuals responses to natural rewards e.g. food, social interactions
it tells the body to repeat what you just did to get the reward and the memory center to also remember how and where the reward is
not just focused on +R also activated in -R
Dopamine in the brain
there are 3 main DA centers in the brain
its released when an individual experiences-
desire
reward
learning, focus
movement - people with Parkinson’s don’t have full control over their DA systems
Dopamine associated with frustrated + reward
when an animal detects something in the environment the brain releases dopamine
more DA is released with the item is attained
Their is a reduction/drop in DA when the item isn’t attained
Interactions between DA and 5 HTP (hydroxytryptophan) and oxytocin affect how frustrated an individual feels and what action they take from that frustration
Frustration effect of dopamine
may lead to the brain signaling a potential threat
only a few mm’s separate desire and dread function in the nucleus accumbens - this can easily lead to outbursts of aggression at times of frustration
Rewards in the easily frustrated dog must be easily achievable
What steps can you taken to reduce frustration in the aggressive dog, before you begin training?
Address feeding regime - frequent feeding, consider soluble CHO vs insoluble CHO, fat vs protein, stabilize sugar levels over 24 hours
Ensure adequate sleep - serotonin homeostasis by default reduces catecholamine activity, GABA activity, and glutamate. Lack of sleep can increase hunger due to impact on glucose stability
Improve predictability of routine - removing any DA drops, HPA axis (chronic stress pathway) release
How to avoid frustration
reduce the acute and chronic stress
allow for long term depression
initiate species specific behaviour patterns to re-achieve homeostasis (without the need for coping strategies) e.g.
- space to make choices
- scavenging/search work
- regular meals
- chewing of edible items
- ability to toilet frequently
- sleep
Be aware of the effects of blood glucose
the effects of stress on reward perception
Acute stress appears to reduce reward sensitivity
Chronic stress has been shown to produce anhedonia (without pleasure) like syndrome in mammals
Rebalancing before training is essential to maximise new learning by reducing acute and chronic stress, that are likely to reduce reward value
asymptote
the continuous reinforcement or using the same reinforcement, the reward value becomes less and less until its no longer reinforcement
During counterconditioning programmes, how could you use food rewards in a way that ensures maximal DA release?
Variation in type and saliency of reinforcer - use a scale of saliency
Set up ‘training’ sessions to limit the number of reinforcement to avoid asympote
When moving from CRF to VF how do you minimise the effect of DA drop that would come from not receiving reinforcements when expected?
Need to think clearly about what you are trying to do…
If you are trying to achieve CC you need CRF, if your trying to achieve something else then you need VR
Reward prediction error hypothesis
DA is released at the time of the predictor (e.g. click) , then there is no more DA released when the actual reward is being consumed
assuming the reward matched their expectation
if the predictor isn’t followed by the expected reward, DA activity drops below baseline
For and against using conditioned reinforcers in counter conditioning programmes?
For;
Faster release of DA
Maintained DA release when followed by primary reinforcer
reflex DA release improves likelihood of reward in circumstances when animal might not enjoy the primary reinforcer alone
Improved timing - has the potential to be used as a marker
Has a potential to act as a bride
Against;
Needs prolonged prior conditioning to actually becomes a secondary reinforcer
needs to be used effectively by the handler or risks DA reduction - owners may not have sufficient skill
Can lead to frustration, potentially even conditioned frustration in its presence - conditioned inhibition
has the potential to cause overshadowing
