Disruption and maintenance of extinction and other forms of interference in assoc

Auburn University At Auburn, Auburn University AL

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The phenomena of stimulus interference in associative learning have been widely studied for more than 80 years; however, despite the many parallels between associative interference phenomena and associative learning phenomena, the two literatures began to come together only recently. Traditional conditioning phenomena such as extinction have come to be understood in terms of associative interference, and many different response recovery phenomena (e.g., renewal, reinstatement, and spontaneous recovery) suggest that the original association, A-B, is not erased by extinction treatment (A-O). Many other training regimes can attenuate responding based on A-B by omitting or replacing its antecedent event, A (e.g., A-B, C-B) or its subsequent event, B (e.g., A-B, A-C, i.e., counterconditioning). Although several behavior modification techniques are based upon the concepts of extinction (e.g., exposure therapy) and counterconditioning (e.g., systematic desensitization), there are few rigorous comparisons of the effectiveness of these procedures and even less investigation of the effectiveness of other procedures (e.g., A-B, C-B interference). Such comparisons could be of great clinical relevance when designing treatment strategies for behavior modification. Furthermore, a determination of the conditions under which relapse (i.e., recovery from extinction) is unlikely would aid in the development of techniques with long-term success rates. Several variables are ubiquitous in behavior modification situations, such as long intervals and unrelated life events occurring between acquisition of an association and treatment. Basic laboratory research can provide principles to determine the conditions under which interference treatments will be more/less effective, as well as guidelines as to how to increase the long-term maintenance of the desired behavioral outcome. The present application proposes to make several comparisons among different interference procedures, aimed at determining whether they reflect the operation of similar underlying processes and at comparing their relative effectiveness in attenuating behavior based on a previously acquired association. Different conditions known or thought to impair the development or long-term maintenance of interference- driven attenuations in behavior (i.e., retention intervals and irrelevant stimulation) will be systematically investigated in multiple paradigms. Furthermore, different manipulations (i.e., associative priming and reactivation of memories) aimed at restoring interference that has waned will be assessed. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Several classical conditioning procedures have served as the basis to develop treatments intended to attenuate maladaptive behaviors such as phobias and substance addiction. However, the prevalence of relapse (the return of those behaviors) is relatively high. The studies described here will investigate the underlying principles of the classical conditioning phenomena upon which these therapies are based to determine the conditions that favor and prevent relapse. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]