Transfer across drives of the discriminative effect of a Pavlovian conditioned stimulus

Previous results suggest that a stimulus paired in Pavlovian fashion with reward should exert some discriminative control over an unrelated operant response acquired under a different drive-reward system. In the following experiment, a stimulus was first paired with food reinforcement for a hungry rat. Subsequently, the animal learned to lever-press for water reinforcements when thirsty but not hungry. Finally, the control over lever-pressing of the food-paired stimulus was tested by presenting it at various times during extinction of the lever-pressing response. All animals in the experiment showed the expected effect; each emitted more lever-presses during periods of the food-paired stimulus than during alternate control periods.     

TECHNO‐SECULARISM AND “REVEALED RELIGION”: SOME PROBLEMS WITH CAIAZZA'S ANALYSIS

Abstract. Instead of focusing my remarks on John Caiazza's interesting and important thesis about the way in which modern technology is drastically secularizing our culture today, I examine the frame within which he sets out his thesis, a frame I regard as seriously flawed. Caiazza's argument is concerned with the broad range of religion/science/technology issues in today's world, but the only religion that he seems to take seriously is what he calls “revealed religion” (Christianity). His consideration of religion is thus narrow and cramped, and this makes it difficult to assess properly the significance of what he calls techno‐secularism. I suggest that employing a broader conception of religion would enable us to see more clearly what is really at stake in the rise of techno‐secularism. Instead of defining the issues in the polarizing terms of revealed religion versus secularity, I argue for a more integrative approach in which concepts are developed that can bring together and hold together major religious insights and themes with modern scientific thinking. If, for example, we give up the anthropomorphism of the traditional idea of God as creator and think of God as simply creativity, it becomes possible to integrate theological insights with current scientific thinking and to formulate the issues posed by the rise of techno‐secularism in a more illuminating way. This in turn should facilitate effective address of those issues.     

Between Reason and Common Sense

This essay is intended as a companion‐piece to my article, “Reality in Common Sense: Reflections on Realism and Anti‐Realism from a ‘Common Sense Naturalist’ Perspective.” (Philosophical Investigations, Vol. 25, No. 4 (October 2002). It explores the epistemological dimension of the Common Sense Naturalism that I developed in that earlier, predominantly metaphysical essay; a position that combines the views of David Hume, Thomas Reid, and the Wittgenstein of On Certainty. My ultimate aim is to produce a comprehensive philosophy of common sense, one that with future installments, will come to include an ethical and social‐political philosophy as well. “Between Reason and Common Sense” offers a common sense naturalist reply to the skeptic. My basic argument is that the skeptic makes a Rylean category mistake, when he applies the concept of warrant to epistemologically basic beliefs, such as the belief in the external world or in the continued and distinct existence of bodies. He misidentifies these beliefs as being ordinary, when they are really a part of the framework that make the practices of believing and justifying possible. As a result, they are not themselves open to confirmation or disconfirmation. I also try to characterize the nature of the necessity carried by framework beliefs, in a way that avoids the charge that the common sense naturalist is simply a closet foundationalist.     

Increasing and decreasing motor and cognitive output: a model of general action and inaction goals

General action and inaction goals can influence the amount of motor or cognitive output irrespective of the type of behavior in question, with the same stimuli producing trivial and important motor and cognitive manifestations normally viewed as parts of different systems. A series of experiments examined the effects of instilling general action and inaction goals using word primes, such as "action" and "rest." The first 5 experiments showed that the same stimuli influenced motor output, such as doodling on a piece of paper and eating, as well as cognitive output, such as recall and problem solving. The last 2 experiments supported the prediction that these diverse effects can result from the instigation of general action and inaction goals. Specifically, these last 2 studies confirmed that participants were motivated to achieve active or inactive states and that attaining them decreased the effects of the primes on behavior.     

Psychological plausibility of the theory of probabilistic mental models and the fast and frugal heuristics

The theory of probabilistic mental models (PMM; G. Gigerenzer, U. Hoffrage, & H. Kleinb?lting, 1991) has had a major influence on the field of judgment and decision making, with the most recent important modifications to PMM theory being the identification of several fast and frugal heuristics (G. Gigerenzer & D. G. Goldstein, 1996). These heuristics were purported to provide psychologically plausible cognitive process models that describe a variety of judgment behavior. In this article, the authors evaluate the psychological plausibility of the assumptions upon which PMM were built and, consequently, the psychological plausibility of several of the fast and frugal heuristics. The authors argue that many of PMM theory's assumptions are questionable, given available data, and that fast and frugal heuristics are, in fact, psychologically implausible.     

GABA(A) receptors determine the temporal dynamics of memory retention

Four experiments studied the role of GABA(A) receptors in the temporal dynamics of memory retention. Memory for an active avoidance response was a nonmonotonic function of the retention interval. When rats were tested shortly (2 min) or some time (24 h) after training, retention was excellent, but when they were tested at intermediate intervals (1-4 h), retention was poor. Activity at GABA(A) receptors was critical for impairing memory retention at the intermediate intervals because injection of the GABA(A) receptor partial inverse agonist FG7142 prior to test significantly improved performance. These retention enhancing effects of FG7142 were dose-dependent and not due to any nonspecific effects of FG7142 on activity. Our results suggest that the temporal dynamics of memory retention may be caused by variations in neurotransmission through the GABA(A) receptor in the post-training period.     

Religiosity and Spiritual Engagement in Two American Indian Populations

Social scientific investigation into the religiospiritual characteristics of American Indians rarely includes analysis of quantitative data. After reviewing information from ethnographic and autobiographical sources, we present analyses of data from a large, population-based sample of two tribes (n = 3,084). We examine salience of belief in three traditions: aboriginal, Christian, and Native American Church. We then investigate patterns in sociodemographic subgroups, determining the significant correlates of salience with other variables controlled. Finally, we examine frequency with which respondents assign high salience to only one tradition (exclusivity) or multiple traditions (nonexclusivity), again investigating subgroup variations. This first detailed, statistical portrait of American Indian religious and spiritual lives links work on tribal ethnic identity to theoretical work on America's "religious marketplace." Results may also inform social/behavioral interventions that incorporate religiospiritual elements.     

When the expectations from a message will not be realized: Naïve theories can eliminate expectation-congruent judgments via correction

Research typically reveals that individuals like an object more when a persuasive message convinces them that this object is pleasant. In this paper, two experiments were conducted to understand the influence of such message-induced affective-expectations on judgments of experienced affect following direct encounter with an alcohol type of drink. As predicted, before trying the drink, recipients of the positive-expectation message had more positive expectations than recipients of the negative-expectation message. After drinking, participants judged the beverage to elicit affect congruent with message-induced expectations to the extent they did not endorse a naïve theory that their affective expectations congruently influence their experienced affect. In contrast, after drinking, the effect of the message disappeared when participants did endorse this naïve theory. Moderation of these effects, as well as theoretical and practical implications, are addressed.     

Post-retrieval disruption of a cocaine conditioned place preference by systemic and intrabasolateral amygdala β2- and α1-adrenergic antagonists

Previous work has demonstrated post-retrieval impairment in associative learning paradigms, including those mediated by drugs of abuse, using nonspecific β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) antagonists. Remarkably little is known about the role of the specific β-AR subtypes, or other adrenergic receptors, in these effects. The current study examined the effects of β₁ and β₂, as well as α₁-adrenergic receptor antagonism following retrieval of a cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP). We found that rats administered the β₂ antagonist ICI 118,551 (8 mg/kg intraperitoneal [IP]) or the α₁ antagonist prazosin (1 mg/kg IP) following a drug-free test for CPP showed attenuated preference during a subsequent test, while the β₁ antagonist betaxolol (5 or 10 mg/kg IP) and a lower dose of prazosin (0.3 mg/kg IP) had no effect. Furthermore, post-test microinfusion of ICI 118,551 (6 nmol/side) or prazosin (0.5 nmol/side) into the basolateral amygdala (BLA) also impaired a subsequent preference. Systemic or intra-BLA ICI 118,551 or prazosin administered to rats in their home cages, in the absence of a preference test, had no effect on CPP 24 h later. ICI 118,551 also attenuated the FOS response in the BLA induced by the CPP test. These results are the first to demonstrate a role for α₁- and β₂-specific adrenergic mechanisms in post-retrieval memory processes. These systemic and site-specific injections, as well as the FOS immunohistochemical analyses, implicate the importance of specific noradrenergic signaling mechanisms within the BLA in post-retrieval plasticity.Substantial evidence indicates that information acquired during a learning event is initially plastic, at which time memory retention can be disrupted, but is strengthened by a time-dependent consolidation process (McGaugh 2000). Recent work has focused on retrieval-induced plasticity, a process by which changes in the retention of previously acquired information are possible. The notion of reconsolidation, one theoretical mechanism by which such changes may occur, suggests that a retrieved memory enters a labile state and is vulnerable to disruption (Sara 2000; Nader 2003). Although the theoretical mechanisms underlying reconsolidation remain unclear, the behavioral effects have been demonstrated across many different learning paradigms using a variety of pharmacological manipulations (for review, see Tronson and Taylor 2007; Diergaarde et al. 2008). Studies with aversive and appetitive preparations, including drug reward-mediated learning, have demonstrated that the noradrenergic system is important for these post-retrieval memory processes (Przybyslawski et al. 1999; Debiec and Ledoux 2004; Bernardi et al. 2006; Diergaarde et al. 2006; Robinson and Franklin 2007; Abrari et al. 2008; Fricks-Gleason and Marshall 2008; Milton et al. 2008). For example, using an animal model of cocaine-conditioned behaviors, Bernardi et al. (2006) demonstrated that systemic post-retrieval administration of propranolol impaired a subsequent conditioned place preference (CPP), suggesting that β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) play an important role in processes occurring following drug memory retrieval.However, most of what is known about the noradrenergic system in the memory processes that follow cued reminder trials comes from studies that use nonspecific β-AR antagonists, such as propranolol. As a consequence, several issues regarding ARs and post-retrieval memory processes remain unresolved. First, because propranolol has affinity for both β₁- and β₂-AR subtypes, it is unclear which subtype mediates these effects. To date, no studies have examined reconsolidation-like impairments using subtype-specific β-AR antagonists, which is important because more specific medications may be equally efficacious with less adverse effects. Second, no studies to date have examined α-ARs regarding a potential role in reconsolidation-like effects. α-ARs—specifically α₁-ARs—have a demonstrated role in memory consolidation (Ferry et al. 1999a,b) and may also mediate post-retrieval processes. Third, although the BLA has had a demonstrated role in reconsolidation-like effects in numerous studies, the behavioral conditions during retrieval of drug-associated memories leading to gene expression within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) have not clearly been defined. Specifically, in the CPP paradigm used here, it is unclear whether exposure to a cocaine cue alone will induce gene expression or whether a preference for the drug-associated environment needs to be expressed for BLA involvement (Franklin and Druhan 2000; Miller and Marshall 2005).Understanding the role of specific adrenergic receptors in mediating post-retrieval memory processes is particularly important in drug-induced CPP. In humans, drug-associated stimuli can facilitate drug use (Gawin 1991; See 2005) or precipitate relapse following abstinence (O''Brien et al. 1992). Thus, pharmacotherapies targeting these memory processes would benefit from a clearer understanding of the specific receptors that mediate behavioral effects (Taylor et al. 2009).Here, we first examined the effects of systemic post-test β₁-, β₂-, and α₁-AR antagonism on cocaine CPP. We then focused on the BLA due to its involvement in reconsolidation-like effects in drug learning paradigms (e.g., Lee et al. 2005), employing microinfusions of AR antagonists and measuring FOS immunoreactivity (FOS-IR) to examine the BLA as a potential site of AR-mediated impairments.