Simultaneous and sequential Feature Negative discriminations: Elemental learning and occasion setting in human Pavlovian conditioning

Using a conditioned suppression task, we investigated simultaneous (XA−/A+) vs. sequential (X → A−/A+) Feature Negative (FN) discrimination learning in humans. We expected the simultaneous discrimination to result in X (or alternatively the XA configuration) becoming an inhibitor acting directly on the US, and the sequential discrimination in X becoming a negative occasion setter acting indirectly on the A-US link. After simultaneous FN training, X+ training completely abolished discriminative XA/A responding (Experiment 1), and X transferred inhibition to new targets B regardless of their training history (B+ or YB−/B+) (Experiment 2), suggesting X became a simple inhibitor. After sequential FN training, X showed the predicted selective transfer to a target B that also had been modulated (Y → B−/B+), not to a simple excitor (B+) (Experiment 4), but turning X into an excitor (X+) likewise disrupted discriminative X → A/A responding (Experiment 3). This suggests that X acquired a combination of modulatory and direct inhibitory properties, and that the joint contribution of both components is necessary for the suppression of the target-induced US activation.