Associatively activated representations of food events resemble food outcome expectancies more closely than they resemble food-based memories.

Full Abstract

When Pavlovian stimuli activate representations of food, do these representations resemble memories of food consumed in the recent past or expectancies of food that is imminent? In Experiments 1A and 1B, this question was addressed by training pigeons on a symbolic matching-to-sample task involving different grains as memory cues or as expectancy cues for correct choices. Autoshaping trials involving these same grains were interspersed among matching-to-sample trials, as were test trials involving the substitution of autoshaping stimuli for cues in the matching-to-sample task. Control over choices transferred to autoshaping stimuli in both experiments, suggesting that associatively activated representations of food resemble both memories and expectancies. In Experiment 2, pigeons were trained on a symbolic matching-to-sample task in which food and no-food memory cues (i.e., the samples) were juxtaposed with no-food and food expectancy cues. Subsequently, autoshaping stimuli, which activated representations of food and no food, were substituted for the samples. Choices by the pigeons indicated that associatively activated representations of food-related events resemble expectancies more closely than they do memories.

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Author information

Author/s: Linwick, Daniel C (DC); Overmier, J Bruce (JB);

Affiliation: University of Wisconsin, River Falls, Wisconsin, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication (Learn Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Feb; vol 34 (issue 1) : pp 1-12

Dates: Created 2006/06/21; Completed 2006/07/25; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16786879, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Cues
Female
Food
Memory

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