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Controlled and Automatic Learning Processes in Addiction
Published in Hanna Pickard, Serge H. Ahmed, The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Science of Addiction, 2019
Reactivity to external drug cues (such as cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine packaging or places, etc.) is usually explained by Pavlovian conditioning (the section below on p. 332 discusses internal states). On this view, the drug-cue conditioned stimulus (CS) predicts drug reinforcement (the unconditioned stimulus US), which elicits unconditioned responses (URs), so the CS comes to elicit conditioned responses (CRs) that are similar to the URs. One view of Pavlovian conditioning is that it is underpinned by an automatic stimulus–response (S–R) structure, in which the CS is directly linked to the UR, enabling the CS to elicit the UR (CR) automatically without any intervening cognitive processes. Early theories of drug-cue reactivity favoured automatic Pavlovian S–R type accounts. However, learning research has established that CS retrieve an expectation or representation of the US that drives the CR, revealed, for example, by the CR being altered if the value of the expected food US is increased or decreased by hunger or satiety. This suggests that Pavlovian conditioning is underpinned by a controlled stimulus–stimulus (S–S) structure (Rescorla 1988). Cue reactivity theories have followed suit and now suggest that cognitive expectancy of the drug generates the CR, and the historical development of this view is outlined below.
Aromatherapy for Pain Relief
Published in Mark V. Boswell, B. Eliot Cole, Weiner's Pain Management, 2005
The mechanism of the odor’s action in reducing headaches in these 15 patients is subject to speculation. The odor may have induced a variety of psychologic effects. The therapeutic result may have been mediated through Pavlovian conditioning. For example, the respondents may have consciously or unconsciously associated (Kirk-Smith, Van Toller, & Dodd, 1983) the green apple odor with past anxiolytic or pain-alleviating experiences so that the association reproduced this same effect during the headache episodes. The odor also might have worked through olfactory-evoked recall, because olfactory-evoked recall is usually pleasant and associated with a positive mood state. The green apple scent, by inducing a positive mood state in the 15 patients, could thus have reduced perception of pain (Fields, 1967). This corresponds with the general affective theory of odors described previously.
The Arbitrary Mapping of Sensory Inputs to Voluntary and Involuntary Movement: Learning-Dependent Activity in the Motor Cortex and Other Telencephalic Networks
Published in Alexa Riehle, Eilon Vaadia, Motor Cortex in Voluntary Movements, 2004
Peter J. Brasted, Steven P. Wise
The data reported by Waelti et al.50 are consistent with contemporary learning theories that posit a role for dopaminergic neurons in reward prediction.55 This system shows a close similarity to those involved in other forms of Pavlovian conditioning, such as eye-blink conditioning. For eye-blink conditioning (and for other protective reflexes), cells in the inferior olivary nuclei compare predicted and received neuronal inputs, probably concerning predictions about the US.335657 The outcome of this prediction then becomes a "teaching" signal, transmitted by climbing-fiber inputs to the cerebellum, that induces the neural plasticity that underlies this form of learning. Why should there be two such similar systems? One answer is that the cerebellum subserves arbitrary stimulus-response mappings for protective responses, whereas the dopamine system plays a similar role for appetitive responses. The paradigmatic example of Pavlovian conditioning surely falls into the latter category:
Fear Learning in Genital Pain: Toward a Biopsychosocial, Ecologically Valid Research and Treatment Model
Published in The Journal of Sex Research, 2023
Learning to predict pain is adaptive for survival as pain threatens bodily integrity and is a warning signal for damage (Meulders, 2020; Vlaeyen, 2015). Classical or Pavlovian conditioning, which is a type of S-S (stimulus-stimulus) or signal learning, is the principal mechanism by which pain-related fear learning can take place (Pavlov, 1927a, 1927b; Vlaeyen, 2015; for a review on conditioning, see also De Houwer, 2020a, 2020b; De Houwer & Hughes, 2020). In the context of genital pain, repeatedly pairing a sexual stimulus (CS), such as a picture of a couple engaging in penetration, with a pain-evoking stimulus (US), such as an electrical stimulus, will evoke fear responding (CR) when the sexual stimulus is presented alone because of its previous pairing with a pain-evoking stimulus. Learning to fear genital pain can also occur in non-sexual situations when tactile stimulation of the vulva or vaginal penetration by non-sexual objects (e.g., a tampon) is repeatedly associated with pain sensations.
Cues associated with repeated ethanol exposure facilitate the corticosterone response to ethanol and immunological challenges in adult male Sprague Dawley rats: implications for neuroimmune regulation
Published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 2023
Jamie E. Mondello, Anny Gano, Andrew S. Vore, Terrence Deak
Pavlovian conditioning occurs when the presence of environmental cues (conditioned stimulus or CS) becomes paired with the physiological and psychological effects of the drug (unconditioned stimulus or US). Once paired, the presentation of the CS+ alone can elicit a new physiological reaction that may or may not parallel the unconditioned effects of the drug (7,8). Alcohol-associated cues can produce a host of responses, including increases in salivation (9), skin conductance (10), heart rate (11) blood pressure (12), behavioral distress, inflammation (13) and cortisol levels (12). Conditioning of environmental cues to drug effects may contribute to the difficulty of maintaining abstinence, as presentation of the drug-paired CS+ contributes to cravings and drug-seeking behavior (14). Importantly, drug conditioning does not occur exclusively in alcohol-dependent individuals (15,16). For instance, social drinkers exhibited greater levels of skin conductance and cravings in response to the CS+ following four pairings of low-dose alcohol to flavored tonic water (10).
A proposed role for glucocorticoids in mediating dopamine-dependent cue-reward learning
Published in Stress, 2021
Sofia A. Lopez, Shelly B. Flagel
Although less research has investigated a potential role for GCs in appetitive Pavlovian conditioning, there is some supporting evidence (Tomie et al., 2002, 2004). Following a Pavlovian conditioning session consisting of a lever-CS paired with food-US, Tomie and colleagues (Tomie et al., 2002, 2004) demonstrated an increase in corticosterone levels, which was apparent following either the 1st or 20th conditioning session. Similar to the data described above for fear conditioning, the rise in corticosterone was greater in rats that received paired presentations of the lever-CS and food-US, relative to those that received random presentations. GC function, therefore appears to play a role in both aversive and appetitive Pavlovian conditioning. The exact mechanism remains to be determined, but it is presumed that both overlapping and distinct processes are involved in the GC-mediated effects on aversive vs. appetitive conditioning. Below we will discuss one possible mechanism in the context of appetitive Pavlovian conditioning.