Psy 256 Reward Reinforcement and Addiction Flashcards
Describe classical (Pavlovian) conditioning. What gets associated with what? Define US, UR, CS, & CR.
Give examples of this conditioning – in the lab and real-life – and identify the brain area(s) involved.
-involves association between two stimuli
-US: stimulus that leads to an automatic response
-UR: automatic response to stimulus
-CS: stimulus that can eventually trigger a conditioned response
-CR: behavior that doesn’t come naturally but must be learned by individual by paring neutral stimulus
with a potent stimulus
What is a conditioned emotional response (CER). Give an example. Where is it formed?
-conditioned emotional response (CER) is a classically conditioned association between a neutral
stimulus (CS; tone; face) and innately aversive stimulus (US; shock; verbal abuse) which results in an SNS (fight, flight, freeze) response
-Example: seeing a dog (neutral stimulus) paired with the pain of being bitten by a the dog
(unconditioned stimulus), seeing a dog may become conditioned stimulus that elicits fear (conditioned
response)
Describe operant (instrumental) conditioning. What gets associated with what? Why is it thought to
be the basis of “reward-based learning” What is a discriminative stimulus and what role does in play
in operant conditioning? What is extinction and when does it occur?
-behaviors followed by pleasurable/rewarding consequences are likely to be repeated while those
followed by unpleasant/aversive are less likely to be repeated
-consequences that increase behaviors are reinforcers; those that decrease behavior are punishments
-once learning/conditioned has been established, lever acts as discriminative stimulus which elicits
relevant behavior response
-extinction is if a reinforcer is discontinued, the behavior will decrease or stop
- What is the difference between positive & negative reinforcement?
-positive is something given
-negative is something being taken away
What is shaping by successive approximations?
-shaping by successive approximations is a shaping technique, each approximate desired behavior that is
demonstrated us reinforced
What are primary reinforcers?
-primary reinforcer: provide innate reward (ex: food, sex, warmth, many drugs of abuse)
What are conditioned reinforcers?
-conditioned (aka secondary): associated with primary reinforcers via classical conditioning (money,
praise, likes, syringe)
What is a conditioned reward stimulus?
-conditioned reward stimulus: unconditioned stimulus associated via classical conditioning with, and
thus signals a pleasant outcome (paraphernalia, dealer, location, person use with)
What is a conditioned aversive stimulus?
-conditioned aversive stimulus: unconditioned stimulus associated via classical conditioning with and
thus signals an unpleasant outcome (parent, teacher, ex, location, person you owe money)
What and where is the medial forebrain bundle (MFB)? What two key brain nuclei are at the base of
this bundle? What happens when these areas are electrically stimulated?
-Medial forebrain bundle is a defined tract linking the anterior nuclei of the hypothalamus with the
mesencephalon, laterally located in the human diencephalon
- Name the three dopaminergic pathways and, for each, describe (a) what is being connected to what
(thus defining the pathway), and (b) the psychological function mediated by that pathway.
-3 main dopamine (DA) pathways:
-nigrostriatal pathway (from substantia nigra to the striatum (basal ganglia)): movement, sequencing, and habits. Dysfunctional in Parkinson’s
-mesolimbic pathway (from midbrain (VTA) to amygdala & nucleus accumbens (NAc):
reward/reinforcement (&pleasure?). High-jacked by addictions
-mesocortical pathway (VTA to PFC): Working memory and executive functions
What is an agonist? An antagonist? Direct vs. indirect agonist? Direct vs indirect antagonist?
Competitive vs noncompetitive binding?
-Agonist: refer to drugs that enhance function of a receptor and increase neural transmission
-Antagonists: refer to drugs that block or interfere with the function of a receptor and decrease neural
transmission
- Direct agonists: mimic NTs, bind to their receptor sites, open ion channels, produce EPSPS or IPSPS
-direct antagonists (receptor blockers) bind to NT receptors, thus preventing the natural NT from
binding with it, but don’t open ion channels
-non-competitive binding is when a drug binds to one of these alternative sites, leaving natural ligand
site alone
-noncompetitively bound drugs that facilitate receptors are called indirect agonists while those that
interfere with receptors are called indirect antagonists
Mice will press a lever to receive stimulation in the MFB. What does research using dopamine (DA)
antagonists tell us about the role of DA in mediating this lever-pressing behavior? Explain.
-Mice will vigorously press a lever to receive electrical stimulation to the Medial Forebrain Bundle (MFB)
this area is associated with multiple NTs, but a key one is Dopamine (DA).
-DA is the main cause/reinforcer for lever pressing; DA in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) that is critical
Describe the conditions under which DA neurons fire to reward, reward-related stimuli, or the failure to receive an expected reward. What is the general conclusion about DA that can be drawn from this research? What is the Reward Prediction Error? What determined the size of this error signal?
-DA neurons respond to unexpected primary & secondary rewards
-juice is given unexpectedly= DA!
-juice is consistently preceded by a signal (CS). CS=DA! Juice=No DA
- CS occurs but no juice delivered -
-CS=DA! Juice= DA neurons inhibited
how does cocaine have its main effect on the brain?
-Cocaine is a DA (and norepinephrine/NE) agonist that blocks transporters that normally (re-up) take DA & NE back into presynaptic neuron
