Neuroscience 19a – Learning and Behaviour
Anil Chopra
1. Give an account of different types of learning
2. Define habituation and sensitization
3. Understand the components influencing behaviour
4. Give examples of classical conditioning and explain how this process occurs
5. Describe the role of dopamine in learning
6. Outline operant conditioning and how it differs from classical conditioning
7. Know some therapeutic applications of conditioning and critically evaluate them
Learning is the acquisition and development of memories and behaviours, including
skills, knowledge, understanding and value. It is the product of experience, and is
seen in varying degrees in different animals.
Habituation: the diminishing of a response due to a repeating stimulus. This is
caused when sensory systems stop sending signals to the brain to induce a response. It
is important in filtering the large amounts of information received from the
surrounding environment, and therefore allows the animal to focus on the important
Response after
things in the environment.
repeated
administrations
Sensitisation: the amplification of a response following
repeated administrations of a stimulus. E.g. drug use
Effect
First response
Highly involved with the process of addiction.
on Body
Addictive drugs produce persistent neuroadaptations in brain
regions involved with the process of incentive motivation
 The brain systems that are sensitized do not mediate
pleasurable/euphoric effect of drugs
 Mediate a subcomponent of reward – “incentive salience”
0
10
/ wanting
Amount of Drug
 Drugs become increasingly attractive 
 Produces compulsive patterns of drug seeking behaviour.
50
Associated Learning
Classical Conditioning
This is learning the association between 2 or more stimuli. Experiment shown by
Pavlov’s dogs:
UnConditioned Stimulus (UCS) – naturally occurring stimulus causing a natural
response (e.g., food )
UnConditioned Response (UCR) – natural reflex action to UCS (e.g., salivation)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS)-stimulus which might produce same response as UCS
(e.g., bell). When the conditioned stimulus is given without the unconditioned
stimulus, the response diminishes.
Conditioned Response (CR) – the newly learned response to CS (e.g., salivation).
Classically conditioned fears tend NOT to
Unconditioned
Unconditioned
extinguish on their own, largely because
Stimulus
Response
people avoid exposure to the conditioned
(UCS) food
(UCR) salivation
stimulus once they have become afraid of it.
UCS
Neutral
Stimulus
bell
UCR
Conditioned
Stimulus (CS)
bell
Conditioned
Response
(CR) salivation
Extinction: If a CS is repeatedly presented with UCS then the CR will extinguish,
after CS has been extinguished it may recur spontaneously.
Generalisation: this is when similar stimuli to the conditioned stimuli also bring
about a conditioned response. E.g. if a tone of 500Hz elicits the conditioned response
then, pitches close to it will elicit a similar response. The closer the pitch, the stronger
the response.
Higher Order Conditioning: more than one conditioned response. E.g. Pavlov
paired the bell with a light and found that eventually, just the stimulus of the light
triggered salivation.
Aversion Therapy: this is a type of psychological therapy used in drug addiction and
alcoholism. It involves patients experiencing some kind of discomfort when exposed
to a particular stimulus. This causes association between the stimulus and the
unpleasant sensation which then stops the patient from anything similar to that
stimulus. E.g. placing unpleasant-tasting substances on the fingernails to discourage
nail-chewing.
If a stimulus incurs some kind of reward for the patient then neurons tend to fire increased
amounts of dopamine. The dopamine is also fired with the conditioned stimulus.
3 elements of Behaviour
 Antecedent: environmental conditions or stimulus changes that exist before the
behaviour of interest, these may be either internal or external to the subject.
 Behaviour: the behaviour of interest emitted by the subject. Future instances of
this behaviour will be influenced by both antecedents and consequences.
 Consequence: a stimulus change that follows the behaviour of interest.
These three elements form the basis of operant conditioning.
Operant Conditioning
This uses consequence to modify the occurrence of behaviour (as opposed to
antecedent in classical conditioning). Behaviour in operant conditioning is voluntary.
It was proved by Thorndike in his experiments with cats:




Cats placed in a box which could only be opened by pulling on a string.
Cats eventually “learned” that their behaviour (pulling on the string) produced
a desirable effect (freedom from box)
- Cats are more likely to repeat the event.
Thorndike proposed two laws governing this:
o The law of effect – if the behaviour has a desirable effect then the cat is
more likely to repeat it in the future
o The law of exercise – the more times the cat is placed in the box the
quicker it escapes –practice makes perfect
Instrumental conditioning is when an organism learns the association between a
response and a stimulus
That is, behaviour controlled by its consequences
BF Skinner applied this learning theory to behaviour change and said that the
frequency at which behaviours occur can only be increased or decreased
Reinforcement - causes a behaviour to occur with greater frequency (e.g.
freedom/food)
Punishment - causes a behaviour to occur with less frequency (shock/no food)
Extinction - is the lack of any consequence following a response. When a response is
inconsequential, producing neither favourable nor unfavourable consequences, it will
occur with less frequency.
Positive - applying a stimulus.
Negative - removing a stimulus.
Factors that Affect Learning
Satiation – the ability to reinforce a behaviour depends to some extent on desire hungry vs. full dog will work differently for food.
Size – is the reinforcer ‘worth’ the effort?
Immediacy – the more immediate the feedback to a behaviour the easier it will be
learned
Contingency – a behaviour needs to be followed reliably/consistently by the
consequence.
Operant conditioning is used in autistic children to teach them what behaviour is
appropriate and what isn’t. Therapists reward good behaviour and ignore bad
behaviour.
Reinforcements used include sweets, toys, praise hugs. Prompting is also used for
example: verbal prompts, instructions, pointing at objects, physically showing the
child what to do. The prompts gradually fade out when the behaviour is learned
(fading) and the existing behaviour can be modified to produce a desired behaviour
(shaping).
Chaining
»
»
»
Break a complete skill into small steps and assist with each step apart from the last
Reinforce the final step until learnt
Then proceed to the next step and so on until the whole behaviour is learnt – skills
teaching e.g. brushing teeth
Imprinting
This is where learning occurs rapidly and independently of a consequence. It usually
only starts at a particular stage in life and usually it involves imitation of a parent
(filial imprinting)
Decreasing the frequency of behaviour

Punishment:
 Apply an R- contingent on the target behaviour
 Infrequently used due for ethical reasons, potential for abuse, involvement of
adverse emotional responses and as there are more effective methods available
 Typically displaces behaviour to another place – e.g. smoking behind bike
sheds

Extinction:
 Remove the reinforcer of a behaviour
 Often inappropriate due to extinction bursts (when behaviour doesn’t lead to
expected response leading to an increase in frequency) and as partial reinforced
behaviours are resistant to extinction
 Used in challenging behaviours

Time out from positive reinforcement:
 Remove the R+ on a target behaviour
 Potential for abuse – e.g. starvation (no food until stop behaviour)
 Legal restrictions on use in professional circumstances
 Used in challenging behaviour
Differential Reinforcement:
 Reinforce an alternative, incompatible behaviour
 Views behaviour as a communication of legitimate needs and is an attempt to
help the person achieve fulfil their needs in an appropriate manner
 Used in challenging behaviour
Stimulus control:
 Some behaviours are triggered by specific stimuli which can be altered or controlled
 Used in habit disorders – e.g. worry chair for sleeping problems


Classical and Instrumental Conditioning
 Similarities:
 Contingency
 Extinction
 Generalisation
 Spontaneous recovery
 Differences:
 S1 → S2 in classical
 R → S in instrumental
 Autonomic in classical, voluntary in instrumental
In many situations both are involved e.g. in phobic avoidance = Miller-Mowrer
theory of phobic avoidance
 UCS + crowded shop → anxiety (UCR)
 CS (crowded shop) → anxiety (CR) – i.e. classical conditioning has cause him to
get anxious in crowds
 Leaving the shop causes anxiety to fall - R (escape) → S (reduction in anxiety)
 Instrumental conditioning and negative reinforcement has cause him to leave and
avoid crows in order to be less anxious
 The basis of phobia therefore involves both mechanisms
Understanding the ways in which normal, adaptive learning processes gives rise to
maladaptive responses makes it possible to devise appropriate and effective
treatments:
Psychological Therapies of Treatment: (3 broad schools)
Psychoanalytic:
 Developed from Freud
 Says psychological problems are manifestations of unconscious conflicts
 Aims to treat them through insight
Behavioural Assessment
1. Objective definition
of the problem
Existential/Humanisitic:
 Based upon the existential/humanistic philosophy –
people are the most important thing
 Treatment by accurate empathy, unconditional positive
regard, focusing on the here and now
Cognitive Behavioural:
 The most important
 Inspired by learning theory
 Emphasis
of scientific approach – objective
measurement and evaluation of outcome
 Focus is behavioural change
 Difference between maintenance and development i.e.
the thing that causes the problem doesn’t necessarily keep it going
 Stresses the importance of sequences of behaviour
 Individualised approach to treatment through behavioural assessment
2. Set up hypotheses to account
for the observations
(i.e. FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS)
3. Test the hypotheses
(i.e. TREATMENT)
4. Evaluate the outcome
Treating Phobias:
» Phobias are fears of specific situations or stimuli that would not normally elicit
fear. The suffer knows it is irrational but is unable to control the fear
» Phobias elicit active avoidance
» Phobias are maladaptive behaviours learned through normal learning processes
» There are two effective treatment methods – systematic desensitisation and flooding
» Systematic desensitisation:
o Establish an antagonistic response to anxiety e.g. relaxation
o Establish a scale of subjective anxiety – e.g. 1 to 100
o Construct a hierarchy – e.g. from spider next door to spider on face
o Start at the lowest stage of the hierarchy and counterpose the antagonistic
response with the anxiety provoking stimulus
o Based on the classical conditioning model of phobia
o The subjective rating is used to measure level of anxiety to avoid elevated
levels of anxiety which can make the problem worse
o Low intensity for short periods
o Can be real or imaginary
» Flooding:
o Exposure to a high intensity anxiety which is maintained until the anxiety diminishes
o Contrary to popular belief does not involve facing worse fear – e.g. locking
someone in a room of spider = implosion therapy
o Performed in a systematic and graded fashion – e.g. acrophobic has to stay in
garden until the anxiety diminishes
o High intensity for long periods
Systematic desensitisation vs. flooding:
 SD is better for circumscribed phobias – e.g. animals
 Flooding is better for generalised phobias – e.g. agoraphobia
 SD = low intensity for short periods
 Flooding = high intensity for long periods
 Low intensity for long periods or high intensity for short periods will make the
phobia worse
 In vivo is better than imaginary
 Graded exposure is not necessary