Historical Influences – Learning

Lecture 2

Rene Decartes (1596-1650)

17th & 18th – Philosophy & Physiology

Is there such a thing as the “mind”

Monism:

Mind is product of brain

Dualism:

Brain is physicalmind is not

Mind-Body Question..are you a monist or a dualist?

Is the mind separate from the body?

Mind-Body Question

Dualism: mind separate from body

Mechanist: Body is like a machine

Mind controls the machine

Body tells mind about the environment…association between senses & body

Pipes = nervesWater = fluids in body Hidden Value = Pineal

Control Valve: Pineal Gland

“Seat of the Soul”

First technicalmodel for the NS

First …..

Mind/Body Is the mind equipped at birth tounderstand the world Learning

Rationalism: knowledge & truth are sought through logical reasoning

Human are equipped with certain fundamental ideas of knowledge (innate ideas): God & Self No Experience necessary No learning

Historical Influences - Learning

John Locke (1632-1704):British Associationist - “continguity”

Empiricism: knowledge is acquired by the senses

Tabula Rasa: blank slate

All human knowledge: derived from experience

Laid the foundation for learning

Simple ideas could be combined with other ideas to produce complex ideas – ideas & events could be connected – retained learning

3 Laws of Association

Contiguity associations occur btw events that occur together(order)

Frequency stronger association with repeated exposure

Intensity (pleasure of pain) feeling accompanying association

Cortical Associations!!!

Neural Basis for Behavior

http://www.csuchico.edu/psy/BioPsych/Images/synapse2.map

Axodendritic

Axosomatic

axonaxonic

Pavlov & Company

Behavioralism – Classical Conditioning

VH1 “Behind the Science”

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936)

Father of Learning•Russian Born•Eldest of 11 children•Son of a priest•At the age of 7 suffered a severe blow to the head – concussion out for 4 years •At 11 sent to theological seminary – priesthood•At 21 entered university – 1875 graduated•8 years later Ph.D.

The consummateresearcher!

• pd for lab animals•Slept in lab•Ate only when neccessaryWorked under brutal conditions – no light, heat (animals froze)

Walked 100’s of miles to get to St. Petersburg

•Military Medical Academy St. Petersburg•Initially worked on Blood Circulation & digestion•1904 Nobel Prize: first Russian & physiologist

…in digestion!!!!•chewing and swallowing alone would cause gastric secretion

•the secretory nerve that controls the gastric glands is the vagus nerve

• variance in types and amounts of secretions of the stomach is a response to different foods

•observation that the mere sight of food stimulates salivary and gastric secretion

Surgery on Dogs - His technique was truly unique in that he did not cut the nerve supply (salivary gland - paratoid) nor contaminate the secretions with food

Serendipity (footsteps)…area of learning

Pavlov 'conditioned' dogs to initiate a salivary response to the sound of a bell

-Measure saliva – food only -rang a bell + food - salivary response-only ringing bell – salivary response

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: Classical conditioning was the first type of

learning to be discovered and studied within the behaviorist tradition (hence the name classical)

a response naturally elicited by one stimulus comes to be elicited by a different, formerly neutral stimulus

E1 E2

S1 S2

CS UCS

Classical Conditioning

•In order to have classical conditioning, there must exist a stimulus that will automatically or reflexively elicit a specific response

•UCS - Unconditioned Stimulus (MEAT POWDER) stimulus that evokes behavioral response of interest stimulus that the animal does not have to learn to respond to

called the UCS because there is no learning involved in connecting the stimulus and response

•UCR - Unconditioned Response (SALIVATION) the reflexive response to the presentation of the UCS

•NS - Neutral Stimulus (BELL) stimulus that does not result in an unconditioned response at first does not produce response

Once CC occurs – association btw stimulus & stimulus

CS - Conditioned Stimulus (Bell)

• what used to be called the neutral stimulus•Initially it evoked no response, but, after conditioning, it now evokes a response

CR - Conditioned Response (Salivation)

• similar to (is the…) unconditioned response • but is evoked by the conditioned stimulus

, 2, 3, 4

Pavlov’s - Neural Mechanism of Action for Classical Conditioning

Extinction: Weakening of a CR when CS is presented by itself

CS (BELL) CR (SALIVA)

Spontaneous Recovery from ExtinctionEvidence that Neural Connection May Exist

Inhibition:The CS not only made excitatory connection with the UCS but also made inhibitory

connections

Inhibitory connection

Second order conditioning:

Learning that takes place as a result of pairing a stimulus with a previously conditioned stimulusMetranome paired with food + =

=Metranome alone

+ =

=

Metranome paired with Black Square CS CS

Black Square alone

Counter conditioning:

Technique for eliminating a conditioned response that involves pairing a CS with another UCS to get another response

Metranome paired with food + =

=Metranome alone (CS)

+ =

=

Metranome paired with rooster CS UCS

Metranome alone(original CS)

Barking

Barking (new response)

Use Classical Conditioning to explain behavior:Scenarios

1. Sound of drill, dentist visit2. Hospital smell, visiting the hospital3. Round band aids, visiting the doctor

4. Examples of Second order conditioning & Counter conditioning

Neutral Stimulus (NS)Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)Unconditioned Response (UCR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)Conditioned Response (CR)