Conditioned respiration and the conditioned flexion response in dogs.

Abstract

The authors compare the conditioning, extinction and reconditioning of respiration with the conditioning, extinction, and reconditioning of the forepaw response in 4 dogs. A buzz and shock were used as stimuli. Conditioning of the 2 responses was done simultaneously. The breathing curves were measured by means of a graphometer which gave the total amt. of breathing activity before and during stimulation. The graphometer was found to give reliable measurements of the breathing activity. Results indicated that conditioned responses were almost invariably inhibitions of breathing; speed of conditioning was twice as fast for breathing as it was for the flexion response; the slower rate of extinction in the breathing response was probably due to the greater amt. of reinforcement it received; and the more rapid reconditioning of the breathing response was also partly due to this fact.