Learning and Reproductive Behavior

拟议的项目涉及最基本和最基本的学习形式之一--巴甫洛夫条件反射。这种类型的学习包括在较早的信号或条件刺激(CS)的基础上预测具有生物学意义的事件或无条件刺激(US)。之前的研究使用了与美国没有内在联系的任意条件刺激，工作重点是这种条件刺激如何引发新的反应。这项研究是基于巴甫洛夫条件反射的一个新的功能视角。功能方面的考虑表明，自然环境中的巴甫洛夫学习涉及到与美国有某种预先存在的关系的条件刺激，这种学习的重要结果不是CS诱导的行为，而是提高了有机体如何对无条件刺激做出反应的有效性。拟议中的研究将使用非人类动物受试者，在性行为系统中的巴甫洛夫条件反射研究中检验这一新视角：一组实验将检验在条件刺激下的学习，这些刺激不是任意的，但包括有限的物种典型线索。另一组实验将研究巴甫洛夫条件反射如何改变无条件的性行为，并在生殖成功方面产生变化。这项研究将进一步加深我们对巴甫洛夫学习的理解，并将把行为学家的功能方法与传统的联想学习研究中对学习机制的强调结合起来。

The proposed project is concerned with one of the most basic and fundamental forms of learning, Pavlovian conditioning. This type of learning involves coming to anticipate a biologically significant event or unconditioned stimulus (US) on the basis of an earlier signal or conditioned stimulus (CS). Prior research has employed arbitrary conditioned stimuli that have no inherent relation to the US, and the work has focused on how new responses come to be elicited by such conditioned stimuli. The proposed research is motivated by a new functional perspective on Pavlovian conditioning. Functional considerations suggest that Pavlovian learning in natural environments involves conditioned stimuli that have some pre-existing relation to the US, and the important consequence of the learning is not CS-elicited behavior but increased effectiveness in how the organism responds to the unconditioned stimulus. The proposed studies will examine this new perspective in studies of Pavlovian conditioning in the sexual behavior system, using nonhuman animal subjects: One set of experiments will examine learning with conditioned stimuli that are not arbitrary but include limited species typical cues. Another set of experiments will examine how Pavlovian conditioning alters unconditioned sexual behavior and produces changes in reproductive success. The research will further our understanding of Pavlovian learning and will integrate the functional approach of ethologists with the emphasis on learning mechanisms in traditional studies of associative learning.