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Boundary conditions of post-retrieval extinction: a direct comparison of low and high partial reinforcement
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 21:34 authored by Kitamura, H, Johnston, P, Otto JohnsonOtto Johnson, Strodl, EResearch 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.
History
Publication title
Neurobiology of Learning and MemoryVolume
174Article number
107285Number
107285ISSN
1074-7427Department/School
School of Psychological SciencesPublisher
Academic Press Inc Elsevier SciencePlace of publication
525 B St, Ste 1900, San Diego, USA, Ca, 92101-4495Rights statement
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