Abstract
Subjects in conditioning experiments time their conditioned responses relative to the onsets of the conditioned stimuli (CSs). These onsets are temporal landmarks, by reference to which subjects may estimate the location of the unconditioned stimulus (US) in time. In a serial compound conditioning paradigm, a long duration CS comes on first, followed later by a second shorter CS, creating both a long-range and a short-range predictor of the US. We ask whether displacing the short-range predictor relative to the long-range predictor causes subjects to strike a compromise between the different temporal locations predicted by the two CSs. In three experiments with pigeons, we varied the training conditions so as to favor or militate against this outcome. However, in all conditions, there was no compromise; after the onset of the displaced short-range CS, the timing of conditioned responding was governed by it alone. This result contrasts with the compromises that are seen when the feeding time predicted by a CS is put in conflict with the time predicted by the circadian clock, and with the similar compromises sometimes seen when a nearby spatial landmark is displaced relative to a larger spatial context.
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Acknowledgements
Grant MH14649 from the National Institute of Health (USA) to John Gibbon supported this research. The research was conducted in accord with the prior approval of the Institutional Review Board of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and with all applicable animal care and welfare laws and regulations. The helpful comments and suggestions of Peter Balsam are gratefully acknowledged.
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John Gibbon died while this work was being prepared for publication
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Fairhurst, S., Gallistel, C.R. & Gibbon, J. Temporal landmarks: proximity prevails. Anim Cogn 6, 113–120 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-003-0169-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-003-0169-8