New Directions for a Classical Paradigm: Human Eyeblink Conditioning

Abstract—The knowledge base on neural substrates an mechanisms involved in classical eyeblink conditioning makes it an ideal paradigm for investigating fundamental issues in learning and memory. New applications for the model system presented here include its use in (a) assessment to evaluate neurocognitive development in infancy, (b) theory building in abnormal psychology to test relationships between obsessive-compulsive behavior and learning rate, (c) evaluation of hypotheses about brain memory systems, and (d) exploration of the role of brain structures such as the cerebellum in learning and timing. Human eyeblink conditioning is a prototype of the utility of a model system that has become well characterized at both the behavioral and the neurobiological levels.