Evocation of Behavioral Change by the Reinforcer is the Critical Event in Both the Classical and Operant Procedures

By definition, in a Pavlovian (classical) procedure a stimulus is presented prior to an eliciting stimulus (reinforcing stimulus) in an operant procedure a response occurs prior to the reinforcer. In spite of the different contingencies implemented by the two procedures, some behavior necessarily precedes the reinforcer in the Pavlovian procedure and some stimulus necessarily precedes the reinforcer in the operant procedure. If conditioning depends on the momentary relation of environmental and behavioral events to a reinforcer, then the two procedures must begin by engaging a common conditioning process. The cumulative effects of that common process are different, however, because of differences in the frequency with which specific environmental and behavioral events are contiguous with the reinforcer (and its elicited response). The view that the critical reinforcing event is the evocation of a change in ongoing behavior evoked by the eliciting stimulus provides the basis for an interpretation of the conditioning process that encompasses the effects of both procedures.

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Operant/Classical Conditioning: Comparisons,Intersections and Interactions The 2014 Winter Conference on Animal Learning and Behavior Focus and Research Seminar Sessions

International Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.46867/ijcp.2014.27.04.07 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Stanley J. Weiss ◽

Jesús Rosales-Ruiz

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Change ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Levels Of Analysis ◽

Critical Event ◽

Training Context ◽

Transfer Effects ◽

Animal Learning ◽

Research Seminar ◽

The Many ◽

And Behavior

The Keynote Speaker at Winter Conference on Animal Learning and Behavior (WCALB) 2014 was Dr. Björn Brembs whose address was titled, Pavlovian and Skinnerian Processes Are Genetically Separable. The essence of the address, that describes the research on which Dr. Brembs based this conclusion, is described below. Articles in this issue representing the related Focus Session include: The Many Faces of Pavlovian Conditioning by Dr. Jozefowiez, Pavlov + Skinner = Premack by Dr. Killeen, Evocation of Behavioral Change by the Reinforcer is the Critical Event in Both the Classical and Operant Procedures by Dr. Donahoe, On Choice and the Law of Effect by Dr. Staddon, Response-Outcome versus Outcome-Response Associations in Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer: Effects of Instrumental Training Context by Gilroy, Everett and Delamater, and The Instrumentally-Derived Incentive-Motivational Function by Dr. Weiss. As a whole, they attempt to increase our contact with, and get at the essence of, what is actually happening with these operant and classical contingencies in the laboratory and nature. The Research Seminar Session revealed the current tendency for explanations of behavior to be reduced to physiology, neuroscience, and genetics. However, anti-reductionists saw shortcomings in this approach. They recommended an interconnected holistic approach which shifts the focus away from the structure of discrete behaviors and toward examining the environment in which the behavior occurs and the consequences produced. The distinction between structural and functional analysis points to a difficulty of integrating facts about behavior with other levels of analysis that requires our attention.

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Endogenous hydrogen sulfide sulfhydrates IKKβ at cysteine 179 to control pulmonary artery endothelial cell inflammation

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs20190514 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 133 (20) ◽

pp. 2045-2059 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Da Zhang ◽

Xiuli Wang ◽

Siyao Chen ◽

Selena Chen ◽

Wen Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Sulfide ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Pulmonary Artery ◽

Cell Model ◽

Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽

Critical Event ◽

Hypertensive Rats ◽

Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cell

Abstract Background: Pulmonary artery endothelial cell (PAEC) inflammation is a critical event in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the pathogenesis of PAEC inflammation remains unclear. Methods: Purified recombinant human inhibitor of κB kinase subunit β (IKKβ) protein, human PAECs and monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertensive rats were employed in the study. Site-directed mutagenesis, gene knockdown or overexpression were conducted to manipulate the expression or activity of a target protein. Results: We showed that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) inhibited IKKβ activation in the cell model of human PAEC inflammation induced by monocrotaline pyrrole-stimulation or knockdown of cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), an H2S generating enzyme. Mechanistically, H2S was proved to inhibit IKKβ activity directly via sulfhydrating IKKβ at cysteinyl residue 179 (C179) in purified recombinant IKKβ protein in vitro, whereas thiol reductant dithiothreitol (DTT) reversed H2S-induced IKKβ inactivation. Furthermore, to demonstrate the significance of IKKβ sulfhydration by H2S in the development of PAEC inflammation, we mutated C179 to serine (C179S) in IKKβ. In purified IKKβ protein, C179S mutation of IKKβ abolished H2S-induced IKKβ sulfhydration and the subsequent IKKβ inactivation. In human PAECs, C179S mutation of IKKβ blocked H2S-inhibited IKKβ activation and PAEC inflammatory response. In pulmonary hypertensive rats, C179S mutation of IKKβ abolished the inhibitory effect of H2S on IKKβ activation and pulmonary vascular inflammation and remodeling. Conclusion: Collectively, our in vivo and in vitro findings demonstrated, for the first time, that endogenous H2S directly inactivated IKKβ via sulfhydrating IKKβ at Cys179 to inhibit nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway activation and thereby control PAEC inflammation in PAH.

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The Differential Effectiveness of the Cognitive Interview Instructions for Enhancing Witnesses’ Memory of a Familiar Event

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000118 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 25-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Magali Ginet ◽

Jacques Py ◽

Cindy Colomb

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Interview ◽

Critical Event ◽

Surgical Operation ◽

Differential Effectiveness ◽

Correct Information ◽

Control Instruction ◽

The Individual ◽

Practical Implications

This study examines the influence of familiarity on witnesses’ memory and the individual effectiveness of each of the four cognitive interview instructions in improving witnesses’ recall of scripted events. Participants (N = 195), either familiar or unfamiliar with the hospital script, were presented with a video of a surgical operation. One week later, an interviewer used one of the four cognitive interview instructions or a control instruction to ask them about the video. Participants familiar with the surgery context recalled significantly more correct information and, in particular, more consistent and irrelevant details than those unfamiliar with the surgery context. Furthermore, the results confirmed the effectiveness of all four cognitive interview mnemonics in enhancing the amount of correct information reported, irrespective of the participants’ familiarity with the critical event. However, their efficacy differed depending on the category of details considered. The practical implications of these results are discussed.

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