Behavioral and Neurobiological Mechanisms of Pavlovian and Instrumental Extinction Learning

This article reviews the behavioral neuroscience of extinction, the phenomenon in which a behavior that has been acquired through Pavlovian or instrumental (operant) learning decreases in strength when the outcome that reinforced it is removed. Behavioral research indicates that neither Pavlovian nor operant extinction depends substantially on erasure of the original learning, but instead depends on new inhibitory learning that is primarily expressed in the context in which it is learned, as exemplified by the renewal effect. Although the nature of the inhibition may differ in Pavlovian and operant extinction, in either case the decline in responding may depend on both generalization decrement and the correction of prediction error. At the neural level, Pavlovian extinction requires a tripartite neural circuit involving the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. Synaptic plasticity in the amygdala is essential for extinction learning, and prefrontal cortical inhibition of amygdala neurons encoding fear memories is involved in fear retrieval. Hippocampal-prefrontal circuits mediate fear relapse phenomena, including renewal. Instrumental extinction involves distinct ensembles in corticostriatal, striatopallidal, and striatohypothalamic circuits as well as their thalamic returns for inhibitory (extinction) and excitatory (renewal and other relapse phenomena) control over operant responding. The field has made significant progress in recent decades, although a fully integrated biobehavioral understanding still awaits.

Complex dynamics of choice during operant extinction and a “simple” associative learning account

Extinction learning, the process of ceasing an acquired behavior in response to altered reinforcement contingencies, is essential for survival in a changing environment. So far, research has mostly neglected the learning dynamics and variability of behavior during extinction learning and instead focused on a few response types that were studied by population averages. Here, we take a different approach by analyzing the trial-by-trial dynamics of operant extinction learning in both pigeons and a computational model. The task involved discriminant operant conditioning in context A, extinction in context B, and a return to context A to test the context-dependent return of the conditioned response (ABA renewal). By studying single learning curves across animals under repeated sessions of this paradigm, we uncovered a rich variability of behavior during extinction learning: (1) Pigeons prefer the unrewarded alternative choice in one-third of the sessions, predominantly during the very first extinction session an animal encountered. (2) In later sessions, abrupt transitions of behavior at the onset of context B emerge, and (3) the renewal effect decays as sessions progress. While these results could be interpreted in terms of rule learning mechanisms, we show that they can be parsimoniously accounted for by a computational model based only on associative learning between stimuli and actions. Our work thus demonstrates the critical importance of studying the trial-by-trial dynamics of learning in individual sessions, and the unexpected power of “simple” associative learning processes.Significance StatementOperant conditioning is essential for the discovery of purposeful actions, but once a stimulus-response association is acquired, the ability to extinguish it in response to altered reward contingencies is equally important. These processes also play a fundamental role in the development and treatment of pathological behaviors such as drug addiction, overeating and gambling. Here we show that extinction learning is not limited to the cessation of a previously reinforced response, but also drives the emergence of complex and variable choices that change from learning session to learning session. At first sight, these behavioral changes appear to reflect abstract rule learning, but we show in a computational model that they can emerge from “simple” associative learning.

Peranan Konsep Teori Behavioristik B. F. Skinner terhadap Motivasi dalam Menghadiri Persekutuan Ibadah

B. F Skinner salah seorang tokoh teori behavioristik yang menekankan perubahan tingkah laku. Skinner menjadi seorang tokoh teori behavioristik karena memperkenalkan teori operant conditioningnya setelah melakukan serangkaian eksperimen. Teori operant conditioning adalah salah satu teori belajar yang dirumuskan oleh Skinner sebagai pengembangan dari teori belajar sebelumnya yaitu teori classical conditioning yang dikemukakan oleh Ivan Pavlov. Pada masa kini orang-orang Kristen kurang termotivasi atau lalai dalam menghadiri persekutuan ibadah. Permasalahan tersebut juga dialami oleh sebagian besar mahasiswa-mahasiswi angkatan 2018 STFT Jaffray Makassar. Dengan metovasi yang berbeda-beda, mereka cenderung melalaikan untuk hadir dalam persekutuan ibadah baik yang dilaksanakan di kampus maupun dalam gereja-gereja lokal masing-masing. Tujuan penulisan makalah ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana peranan teori behavioristik B.F Skinner dalam mengubah motivasi mahasiswa-mahasiswi angkatan 2018 STFT Jaffray Makassar dalam Menghadiri Persekutuan Ibadah. Adapun metode yang penulis gunakan dalam makalah ini adalah pendekatan literatur riview. Kajian yang menggunakan sumber literatur yang berhubungan dengan judul makalah. Hasilnya adalah penerapan konsep teori behavioristik mengubah motivasi melalui respon yang akan dihasilkan oleh seseorang maka teori ini berlaku dalam 1). Law of operant conditining yaitu jika timbulnya perilaku diiringi dengan stimulus penguat, maka kekuatan perilaku tersebut akan meningkat. 2). Law of operant extinction yaitu jika timbulnya perilaku operant telah diperkuat melalui proses conditioning itu tidak diiringi stimulus penguat, maka kekuatan perilaku tersebut akan menurun bahkan musnah.

EFEKTIFITAS DIFFERENTIATED REINFORCEMENT OF INCOMPATIBLE BEHAVIOR (DRI) DALAM MENURUNKAN PERILAKU AGRESI VERBAL PADA REMAJA DENGAN MODERATE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Intellectutal disability (ID) adalah gangguan neurodevelopmental yang ditandai dengan keterbatasan dalam fungsi kecerdasan dan fungsi adaptif (konseptual, sosial, dan praktikal). Salah satu dampak dari keterbatasan kedua fungsi tersebut adalah masalah regulasi emosi, khususnya pada usia remaja. Dampaknya, anak lebih rentan pada masalah perilaku, seperti perilaku agresi verbal. Intervensi yang umum dilakukan untuk mengatasi masalah ini adalah intervensi ABA, salah satunya dengan metode differentiated reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektifitas differentiated reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) untuk menurunkan perilaku agresi verbal pada remaja dengan moderate intellectual disability. Penelitian dilakukan dengan desain single case A-B. Penelitian juga melibatkan teknik operant extinction dan reinforcement dalam intervensi. Hasil penelitian menujukkan adanya penurunan perilaku agresi verbal pada remaja dengan moderate intellectual disability setelah menjalani intervensi perilaku dengan metode DRI. Partisipan juga lebih mampu meregulasi emosinya.