PSY 3103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Ventral Tegmental Area, Acetylcholine, Amygdala

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 3103
• Professor: Catherine Plowright

Document Summary

Habituation: responsiveness to a specific stimuli declines with repeated exposure. Sensitization: responsiveness to a specific stimuli increases with repeated exposure. Davis (1974) showed that the same stimulus could initiate a habituation or sensitization response. With diffuse white noise exposure became habituated. With loud background noise exposure became sensitized. Also shows that you can"t predict behaviour outcomes. In the third trial group two was exposed to a new stimuli and their response level increased. In trial four, group two was exposed to the old stimulus and their response level remained increased. This is called dishabituation where response to an old stimulus is recovered. Habituation: repeatedly touching the siphon results in a decrement of the gill withdrawal reflex and less neurotransmitters are released by the sensory neuron. Dishabituation: a brief shock to the tail restores the subsequent gill withdrawal action pattern when the siphon is touched (habituation process stops) The rats who listened to distributed tones became habituated faster.