Effect of delay interval on classical eyeblink conditioning in 5‐month‐old human infants
- 8 November 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Developmental Psychobiology
- Vol. 41 (4) , 329-340
- https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.10050
Abstract
Associative learning was evaluated in human infants with simple delay classical eyeblink conditioning. A tone conditioned stimulus (CS) was paired with an airpuff unconditioned stimulus (US) at three different delay intervals (250, 650, and 1,250 ms). Independent groups of healthy, full-term 5-month-old human infants were assigned to these three paired conditions and received two identical training sessions 1 week apart. The two longer delays resulted in associative conditioning, as confirmed by comparison with unpaired control groups. However, only at the 650-ms delay were associative eyeblinks adaptively timed to avoid the airpuff. The delay function at 5 months of age appears much sharper than is observed in adults. Together with the findings of A. H. Little, L. P. Lipsitt, and C. Rovee-Collier (1984), the present study suggests a downward shift in the optimal delay interval for associative eyeblink conditioning between 1 and 6 months of age. However, this delay remains longer than what is typically reported in adults. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 41: 329–340, 2002. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/dev.10050Keywords
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