This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Norman, C. Articles by Cassaday, H. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Norman, C. Articles by Cassaday, H. J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Amphetamine increases aversive conditioning to diffuse contextual stimuli and to a discrete trace stimulus when conditioned at higher footshock intensity

School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK

H. J. Cassaday

School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK helen.cassaday{at}nottingham.ac.co.uk

Amphetamine can increase conditioning to poor predictors of reinforcement in selective learning tasks (e.g. latent inhibition, LI). In the present study, a noise stimulus was contiguous with footshock or presented at a trace interval. A flashing light background stimulus was used to measure contextual conditioning. Experiment 1 used 1.5 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg dl-amphetamine. Experiments 2 and 3 used 0.5 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg d-amphetamine. Unconditioned stimuli parameters (intensity, number, duration) were also manipulated from one experiment to the next. Amphetamine consistently increased conditioning to the background stimulus, and increased conditioning to the trace stimulus at higher footshock intensity (Experiment 3). Thus, amphetamine increased conditioning only to relatively uninformative predictors. The effect on conditioning to trace conditioned stimuli depended on the level of reinforcer but increased conditioning to background did not. Throughout, there was no effect of amphetamine on conditioning of the contiguous stimulus. Thus, the results did not simply arise because amphetamine increased conditioning under any condition in which conditioning without amphetamine was poor. The results are discussed in terms of amphetamine effects on breadth of attention and LI to context.

Key Words: amphetamine • contextual conditioning • dopamine • trace conditioning

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 17, No. 1, 67-76 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881103017001701


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Cassaday, B. Finger, and R. Horsley Methylphenidate and nicotine focus responding to an informative discrete CS over successive sessions of appetitive conditioning J Psychopharmacol, November 1, 2008; 22(8): 849 - 859. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Grimond-Billa, C Norman, G. Bennett, and H. Cassaday Selectively increased trace conditioning under the neurotensin agonist PD 149163 in an aversive procedure in which SR 142948A was without intrinsic effect J Psychopharmacol, May 1, 2008; 22(3): 290 - 299. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Horsley, P. Moran, and H. Cassaday Appetitive overshadowing is disrupted by systemic amphetamine but not by electrolytic lesions to the nucleus accumbens shell J Psychopharmacol, March 1, 2008; 22(2): 172 - 181. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R.R. Horsley and H. J. Cassaday Methylphenidate can reduce selectivity in associative learning in an aversive trace conditioning task J Psychopharmacol, July 1, 2007; 21(5): 492 - 500. [Abstract] [PDF]

				E. Kantini, C. Norman, and H. J. Cassaday Amphetamine decreases the expression and acquisition of appetitive conditioning but increases the acquisition of anticipatory responding over a trace interval J Psychopharmacol, December 1, 2004; 18(4): 516 - 526. [Abstract] [PDF]