Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction
Abstract Temporal contiguity between conditioned (CS) and unconditioned stimuli (US) is a crucial factor in Pavlovian learning, yet little is known about its role in appetitive conditioning and extinction. In a within-subject design, 60 participants underwent both a delay (DC) and trace conditioning...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05350-0 |
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| author | Johannes B. Finke Anna M. Schippers Tim Klucken |
| author_facet | Johannes B. Finke Anna M. Schippers Tim Klucken |
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| description | Abstract Temporal contiguity between conditioned (CS) and unconditioned stimuli (US) is a crucial factor in Pavlovian learning, yet little is known about its role in appetitive conditioning and extinction. In a within-subject design, 60 participants underwent both a delay (DC) and trace conditioning (TC) session with partial reinforcement (75%) by monetary rewards (US) and varying interval between CS offset and US onset (DC: 0s; TC: 4s). In addition to self-report indices (reward expectancy, arousal, valence), psychophysiological markers (pupil dilation, heart-period and startle reflex modulation) were recorded during acquisition and extinction training. For most measures, significant differential conditioned responses emerged, irrespective of temporal contiguity, with no major differences observed between TC and DC during acquisition (except for potentially diminished startle attenuation in TC). Despite overall similar patterns in conditioned responding (with small to moderate effects on physiological measures), there was no intraindividual concordance between sessions, yet evidence for differential TC effects on extinction learning. Specifically, smaller reductions in differential reward expectancy, heart-period deceleration and startle modulation after extinction in TC suggested relatively diminished extinction learning. Conditioned pupil dilation (0–2 s after CS onset) remained comparatively stable. Taken together, our findings extend evidence of differences in underlying learning mechanisms between TC and DC to the context of reward learning. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| spelling | doaj-art-ab9a6c85a2b441f7b3dfd857470ddf282025-08-20T03:22:49ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-06-0115111410.1038/s41598-025-05350-0Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinctionJohannes B. Finke0Anna M. Schippers1Tim Klucken2Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of SiegenDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of SiegenDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of SiegenAbstract Temporal contiguity between conditioned (CS) and unconditioned stimuli (US) is a crucial factor in Pavlovian learning, yet little is known about its role in appetitive conditioning and extinction. In a within-subject design, 60 participants underwent both a delay (DC) and trace conditioning (TC) session with partial reinforcement (75%) by monetary rewards (US) and varying interval between CS offset and US onset (DC: 0s; TC: 4s). In addition to self-report indices (reward expectancy, arousal, valence), psychophysiological markers (pupil dilation, heart-period and startle reflex modulation) were recorded during acquisition and extinction training. For most measures, significant differential conditioned responses emerged, irrespective of temporal contiguity, with no major differences observed between TC and DC during acquisition (except for potentially diminished startle attenuation in TC). Despite overall similar patterns in conditioned responding (with small to moderate effects on physiological measures), there was no intraindividual concordance between sessions, yet evidence for differential TC effects on extinction learning. Specifically, smaller reductions in differential reward expectancy, heart-period deceleration and startle modulation after extinction in TC suggested relatively diminished extinction learning. Conditioned pupil dilation (0–2 s after CS onset) remained comparatively stable. Taken together, our findings extend evidence of differences in underlying learning mechanisms between TC and DC to the context of reward learning.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05350-0Appetitive conditioningTrace conditioningExtinction learningPupil dilationStartle modulationHeart-period modulation |
| spellingShingle | Johannes B. Finke Anna M. Schippers Tim Klucken Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction Scientific Reports Appetitive conditioning Trace conditioning Extinction learning Pupil dilation Startle modulation Heart-period modulation |
| title | Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| title_full | Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| title_fullStr | Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| title_short | Intra-individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| title_sort | intra individual comparison of appetitive trace and delay conditioning in humans across acquisition and extinction |
| topic | Appetitive conditioning Trace conditioning Extinction learning Pupil dilation Startle modulation Heart-period modulation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05350-0 |
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