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Boundary conditions of post-retrieval extinction: a direct comparison of low and high partial reinforcement
Citation
Kitamura, H and Johnston, P and Johnson, L and Strodl, E, Boundary conditions of post-retrieval extinction: a direct comparison of low and high partial reinforcement, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 174 Article 107285. ISSN 1074-7427 (2020) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107285
Abstract
Research has shown that a single presentation of the conditioned stimulus prior to extinction training can diminish
conditioned responses. However, replication has proven difficult and appears to be limited by boundary
conditions. Here we tested the boundary condition of memory strength by comparing the effect of reinforcement
rate to assess its role in post-retrieval extinction. Eighty university students had undergone a three-day fear
conditioning experiment in which two partial reinforcement schedules (40%, 80%) were applied. The findings
indicated that both low and high partial reinforcement groups did not demonstrate recovery of conditioned
responses after post-retrieval extinction. In contrast, both groups demonstrated significant recovery to standard
extinction with significantly greater recovery in the 80% group relative to the 40% group. Additionally, we
found that greater physiological arousal during memory retrieval significantly predicted recovery of fear at test
phase. We conclude that when compared to a lower partial reinforcement schedule, a higher partial reinforcement
resulted in the formation of a stronger memory as indicated by greater physiological arousal during
memory reactivation and recovery of conditioned responses after standard extinction, but that it does not
function as a boundary condition of post-retrieval extinction. These data are significant because it is the first
study to investigate the effect of varying partial reinforcement schedules on fear recovery and add to the body of
literature that continue to identify sources of failure in the application of post-retrieval extinction.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | fear conditioning, reconsolidation, memory, learning, partial reinforcement rate, electrodermal activity |
| Research Division: | Health Sciences |
| Research Group: | Allied health and rehabilitation science |
| Research Field: | Rehabilitation |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in psychology |
| UTAS Author: | Johnson, L (Associate Professor Luke Johnson) |
| ID Code: | 143147 |
| Year Published: | 2020 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 6 |
| Deposited By: | Psychology |
| Deposited On: | 2021-03-02 |
| Last Modified: | 2021-09-16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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