Psychology 3430: Topics in Animal Learning and Cognition
Instructor: Linda Parker
Office: 3020 McKinnon extension
Email address: parkerl@uoguelph.ca
Office hours: Tues/Thurs 2:30-4.
The topics covered in this course will provide you with a basic understanding of current
theories and research in the field of animal learning and cognition. A number of review
articles will be discussed during the term. These articles are all available from a link from
the course outline located on the psychology website (www.psychology.uoguelph.ca
Choose current students > timetables & outlines > timetables > Fall Semester 2006 and
choose the page icon next to Psych 3430). Students will present assigned sections of
these articles (2-3 student presentations/class –approximately 20 min each with 5 min for
discussion). Students will be expected to develop a research proposal on the basis of the
work discussed in the class. There will be periodic quizzes given prior to the beginning of
discussion of the articles.
Sept 12-14: Introduction and organizational meetings.
Sept 19-21: Parker lectures on conditioned taste aversion learning.; Quiz at end of lecture
on Sept 21.
Sept 26-28: Domjam, M. (2005) Pavlovian conditioning: A functional perspective.
Annual Reviews of Psychology. 56, 179-206.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Domjan2005Sept26-28.pdf)
1. Introduction; Learning with ecologically relevant conditioned stimuli (180-188)-2
people
2. Conditioned modifications of responses to the unconditioned stimulus (188-199)2 people.
Quiz (Sept 26)
Oct 3: Bouton ME (2002) Context, Ambiguity and Unlearning: Sources of relapse after
behavioural extinction. Biological Psychiatry, 52, 976-989.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Bouton2002Oct3.pdf)
1. Introduction; four mechanisms of relapse (976-980)
2. Converging evidence against unlearning to end (980-983)
Quiz
Oct 5: Bouton ME & Moody EW (2004) Memory processes in classical conditioning.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 663-674.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Bouton&Moody2004Oct5.
pdf)
1. Extinction, context and interference; Long term Memory processes in animal
conditioning and learning (664-668)
2. Short-term memory processes in conditioning; Conditioned stimuli as retrieval
cues; summary & conclusions (668-671).
Quiz
Oct 10-12: Siegel, S. and Ramos, B.M.C. (2002) Applying laboratory research: Drug
anticipation and the treatment of drug addiction. Experimental and Clinical
Psychopharmacology, 10, 162-183.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Siegel&Ramos2002Oct1012.pdf)
1. Introduction, Three areas of interrelated experimental and clinical research,
Pavlovian conditioning-A framework for integrating laboratory and clinical
findings (p 162-166 end of self-administration cues)
2. Pavlovian conditioning and drug overdose (166-170 end of Drug overdose: The
researcher and the Clinician)
3. Pavlovian conditioning and cue exposure treatment (170-176)
4. Pavlovian conditioning and pharmacological treatment of withdrawal symptoms
(176-179)
Quiz (Oct 10)
Oct 17 No class—Society for Neuroscience meetings
Oct 19:
Everitt, B.J. & Robbins, T.W. (2005) Neural systems of reinforcement for drug
addiction: from actions to habits to compulsion. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 1481-1489.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Everitt&Robbins2005Oct1
9.pdf)
1. Introduction; Reinforcement, conditioning and the nucleus accumbens (14811485)
2. Interacting roles of striatal subregions in reinforcement; the basolateral amygdalanucleus accumbens core system; hippocampus-nucleus accumbens system; the
prefrontal executive system (1485-1487).
Quiz
Oct 24-26: Stewart, J. (2003) Stress and relapse to drug seeking: Studies in laboratory
animals shed light on mechanisms and sources of long-term vulnerability. The American
Journal on Addictions, 12: 1-17.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Stewart2003Oct24-26.pdf)
1. Introduction to end of stress and relapse to cocaine and other drugs (p 2-5)
2. Stress-induced relapse and hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis
(5-7 end of CRF systems..)
3. Noradrenergic systems of the brain and stress-induced reinstatement & role of the
prefrontal cortex (7-10)
4. What is the basis of the re-initiation of drug seeking induced by acute exposure to
stress to conclusions (10 –13)
Quiz (Oct 24)
Oct 31-:Nov 2: Robinson, T.E. and Berridge, K.C.(2003) Addiction. Annual Reviews of
Psychology, 54, 25-53.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Robinson&Berridge2003O
ct31-Nov2.pdf)
1. Introduction, pleasure, withdrawal and opponent processes (p 26-29)
2. Abberent learning? (p 31-36)
3. Incentive sensitization (p 36 – 44)- 2 people
4. Decision-making and loss of inhibitory control to end (p 44-47)
Quiz (Oct 31)
Nov 7-9: Schultz, W. (2006) Behavioral theories and the neurophysiology of reward.
Annual Reviews of Psychology, 57, 87-115.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/SchultzNov7-9.pdf)
1. Introduction; General ideas on reward function and a call for theory (88-91)
2. Reward functions defined by animal learning theory (91-95)
3. Neurophysiology of reward based on animal learning theory: Primary reward,
contiguity, contingeny (95-99)
4. Neurophysiology of reward based on animal learning theory (continued):
prediction error (99-102)
5. Neurophysiology of reward based on animal learning theory (continuted):
approach behaviour and goal directedness (102-105)
6. Reward functions defined by microeconomic utility theory (105-107)
7. Neurophysiology of reward based on economic theory; conclusions
(107 –111).
Quiz (Nov 7)
Nov 14: Kim, J.J. & Jung, M.W. (2006) neural circuits and mechanisms involved in
Pavlovian fear conditioning: A critical review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral
Reviews, 30, 188-202.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Kim&Jung2006Nov14.pdf)
1. Introduction; amygdala as the locus of fear conditioning (p 189-193)
2. Brain areas other than the amygdala; Other critical issues (193-196)
3. Prefrontal cortex and extinction to end (p 196-198).
Quiz
Nov 16: Shettleworth, SJ (2003) Memory and hippocampal specialization in food-storing
birds: Challenges for research on comparative cognition. Brain Behavior and Evolution,
62, 108-116.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Shettleworth%202003Nov1
6.pdf)
1. Introduction and background; Misconceptions and oversimplifations: The nature
of adaptive specializations, The comparative approach, What cognitive
adaptations are interesting? (108-111)
2. Alternative approaches to species comparison: 1) Relative differences, why do
food-storers choose space over color whereas non-storers don’t? 2)Withinspecies comparisons; concluding remarks (111-115).
Quiz
Nov 21-23: Sherry, D.F. (2006) Neuroecology. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 167197.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Sherry2006Nov21-23.pdf)
1. Introduction, Mating system, spatial ability, and the hippocampus: A case study
in neuroecology (p 167-169)
2. The comparative method (169-175)
3. Food storing birds and the avian hippocampus (176-180)
4. Sex differences in the hippocampus; the song control nuclei (180-183)
5. Innovation and the avian forebrain; the primate brain (183-187)
6. The neuroecological approach; conclusions (187-191)
Quiz (Nov 21)
Nov 28: Hollis, K. (1997) Contemporary research on Pavlovian conditioning: A new
functional analysis. American Psychologist, 52, 956-965.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Hollis1997Nov28..pdf)
1. Introduction and ecological perspective
2. Cognitive perspective to end.
Quiz
Nov 30: Galef, B.G. (2004) Approaches to the study of traditional behaviours of freeliving animals. Learning & Behavior, 32, 53-61.
(http://www.psychology.uoguelph.ca/faculty/parker/Psy3430/Galef2004Nov30.pdf)
2 people can decide how they want to divide the presentation.
Quiz
EVALUATION:
Oral Presentation= 20%: Each student will make one oral presentation of a section of a
review article listed above during the term. The articles have been divided into a number
of sections. Each student will cover the chosen section giving a 20 min power-point
presentation of the relevant material with a 5 min question period to follow. These topics
will all be assigned on Sept 14. If more than one student wants the same topic on that
day, then names will be drawn.
Quizzes over articles =35%: At the beginning of the class, all students will take a 5 min
quiz covering basic material covered in the review article assigned for the week. The
quiz will be given before any discussion occurs on the article. There will be a total of 14
quizzes. Your mark will be based on the best of the 14 quizzes. There will be no make-
up quizzes. So, if you miss a quiz for any reason, then that will be one of the two dropped
marks.
Participation=10% You will be expected to attend all classes, have read the review article
before the class and participate in the discussion
Final research proposal=35%: Throughout the course you should each be thinking of an
experiment that would extend the findings that we discuss. The written proposal
will be in APA style and will include title page, abstract, introduction, method
sections and expected results [including the design of the experiment and how you
intend to analyze the results]. The method section should specifically tell the
reader what you will do in a way that it could be replicated by another. The
introduction should be no longer than 5 pages and will include material from at
least 5 primary references (not including those listed above on the course outline)
based on a literature search. The method section should be complete, written as a
proposal (future tense). It is expected that the research proposal will arise from
the assigned readings and class discussions.