Timing and cue competition in conditioning of the nictitating membrane response of the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Abstract

Rabbits were classically conditioned using compounds of tone and light conditioned stimuli (CSs) presented with either simultaneous onsets (Experiment 1) or serial onsets (Experiment 2) in a delay conditioning paradigm. Training with the simultaneous compound reduced the likelihood of a conditioned response (CR) to the individual CSs (“mutual overshadowing”) but left CR timing unaltered. CR peaks were consistently clustered around the time of unconditioned stimulus (US) delivery. Training with the serial compound (CSA→CSB→US) reduced responding to CSB (“temporal primacy/information effect”) but this effect was prevented by prior CSB→US pairings. In both cases, serial compound training altered CR timing. On CSA→CSB test trials, the CRs were accelerated; the CR peaks occurred after CSB onset but well before the time of US delivery. Conversely, CRs on CSB– trials were decelerated; the distribution of CR peaks was variable but centered well after the US. Timing on CSB– trials was at most only slightly accelerated. The results are discussed with respect to processes of generalization and spectral timing applicable to the cerebellar and forebrain pathways in eyeblink preparations.