Habituation, Sensitization, and Behavior

Habituation, Sensitization, and Behavior reviews some of the important advances that have been made toward understanding the mechanisms underlying, and the significance of, the phenomena traditionally associated with habituation, sensitization, and behavior in intact organisms. Habituation and sensitization are used to refer to underlying theoretical processes, and behavior changes are described at the response level.

Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of approaches, constructs, and terminology used in the study of response change in the intact organism. The discussion then turns to a two-factor dual-process theory of habituation and sensitization, together with a theory of the mechanism of habituation that emphasizes the assignment of responses to stimuli. Subsequent chapters explore the link between memory and habituation; statistical strategies for analyzing repeated-measures data; cellular approaches used in the analysis of habituation and sensitization in Aplysia; and intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of habituation and sensitization. The habituation of central nervous system evoked potentials is also considered, with particular reference to intrinsic habituation in the neocortex, allocortex, and mesencephalon. The final chapter is devoted to evolutionary determination of response likelihood and habituation.

This monograph should be of interest to practitioners in the fields of behavioral biology, psychobiology, psychology, and psychiatry.

Contenu

Contributors
Preface

1. Approaches, Constructs, and Terminology for the Study of Response Change in the Intact Organism
   I. Introduction
   II. Level of Constructs
   III. Operations and Terminology: Sources of Confusion
   IV. Associative and Nonassociative Learning: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Experience
   V. The Field and the Laboratory
   VI. Summary
   References
   Part I Theory and Methods
2. A Two-Factor Dual-Process Theory of Habituation and Sensitization
   I. Introduction
   II. Historical Developments
   III. Habituation of White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli) to Playback of Territorial Song
   IV. Two-Factor Dual-Process Theory
   References
3. A Theory of the Mechanism of Habituation: The Assignment of Responses to Stimuli
   I. Introduction
   II. The Primary-Comparator Model
   III. Applications of the Model
   IV. Discussion
   Appendix: Glossary of Symbols
   References
4. Memory and Habituation
   I. Introduction
   II. SOP: A Theory of Automatic Memory Processing
   III. Analysis of Transient Response Depression
   IV. Associative Basis of Durable Response Decrements
   V. Concurrent Stimulation and Habituation
   VI. Effects of Stimulus Intensity and Interstimulus Interval
   VII. Conditioned Modulation of the Unconditioned Response
   VIII. Conclusion
   References
5. An Evaluation of Statistical Strategies to Analyze Repeated-Measures Data
   I. Introduction
   II. Statistical Procedures Used to Detect Response Changes
   III. Methods to Detect Stimulus Generalization, Dishabituation, and Spontaneous Recovery
   IV. Additional Problems
   V. Strategy of this Chapter
   VI. Simulated Data
   VII. Real Data
   VIII. Discussion
   IX. Recommendations
   X. Approaches to Theory Construction
   References
   Part II Basic Processes
6. An Introduction to Cellular Approaches Used in the Analysis of Habituation and Sensitization in Aplysia
   I. Introduction
   II. Behavioral Approaches
   III. Cellular Approaches
   IV. Relationship between Simple Forms of Nonassociative and Associative Learning
   V. Summary and Perspectives
   References
7. Habituation of Central Nervous System Evoked Potentials: Intrinsic Habituation Examined in Neocortex, Allocortex, and Mesencephalon
   I. Introduction
   II. The Experimental Preparations
   III. Tissue Preparation
   IV. Experimental Design
   V. Results: Intrinsic Habituation in the Central Nervous System
   VI. Discussion
   References
8. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Mechanisms of Habituation and Sensitization: Implications for the Design and Analysis of Experiments
   I. Introduction
   II. Response Decrement and Response Increment of Acoustic Startle
   III. Modulatory Pathways
   IV. Summary Analysis of Response Change during Stimulus Repetition
   References
9. Do Human Evoked Potentials Habituate?
   I. Introduction
   II. Human Evoked Potentials
   III. Methodological Problems
   IV. Recovery Cycles of Evoked-Potential Components
   V. Operational Definition of Habituation: Which Parameters Differentiate Habituation and Recovery?
   VI. Conclusion
   References
   Part III Functional Processes
10. Predator-Prey Behavior and Habituation
    I. Introduction
    II. Habituation to Predators in Nature
    III. Habituation Experiments
    IV. Habituation and Acoustic Alarm Communication
    V. Habituation of Predators' Fear of Prey
    References
11. Habituation and the Maintenance of Territorial Boundaries
    I. Introduction
    II. Fish and Birds
    III. Territoriality
    IV. Establishment and Defense of Territory
    V. Waning of Conspecific Aggression: Minimal Definitional Requirements for Habituation
    VI. Habituation of Aggression in Fish
    VII. Habituation of Aggression in Birds
    VIII. Response Variability and Contemporary Habituation Theory: The Interaction of Incremental and Decremental Processes
    IX. State Change and Sensitization
    X. State Change, Sensitization, and the Reproductive Cycle
    XI. Motivational Specificity, General Arousal, and Sensitization: The Redirection of Behavior
    XII. Response-Independent Habituation
    XIII. Summary and Conclusions
    References
12. Evolutionary Determination of Response Likelihood and Habituation
    I. Introduction
    II. The Problem of Aggression
    III. Evolutionary Stability of the Probability of Attack
    IV. Evolutionary Control of the Magnitude of Damage
    V. Some Applications of the Theory
    VI. Reencounters: An Evolutionary Basis for Dominance
    VII. Territorial Defense
    VIII. Probabilistic Information
    IX. Conclusion
    References
    Index