Strength, latency, and form of conditioned skeletal and autonomic responses as functions of CS-UCS intervals.

Abstract

7 cats were classically conditioned to respond with a paw movement and a GSR at CS-UCS intervals of 150, 300, 500, 750, 1000, 1500, and 2000 msec. in a within-S design. Optimal conditioning, as measured by responses to extinction, occurred at the 500-msec interval with the lowest performance at 150 and the next lowest at 2000 msec. Both the GSR and the paw response showed increasing asymptotic latencies with increasing CS-UCS intervals. The paw latencies were remarkably linear, overshooting the interstimulus interval (ISI) values at 150 and 300 msec., and undershooting by increasingly larger values at intervals beyond 500 msec. The GSR data were less regular than those for the skeletal response. The paw CRs differed in form at each ISI value. Form differences and latencies at the various intervals suggested that a micromolar interpretation would be useful. A theoretical interpretation of the relationship between response strength, latency, and ISI is made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)