Source Paper
Neurotoxic Lesions of Basolateral, But Not Central, Amygdala Interfere with Pavlovian Second-Order Conditioning and Reinforcer Devaluation Effects
Tammy Hatfield, Jung-Soo Han, Michael Conley, Michela Gallagher, Peter Holland
Journal of Neuroscience • 1996
Second-Order Conditioning
Objective: To examine the effects of selective neurotoxic lesions of basolateral amygdala (ABL) or central nucleus (CN) on acquisition of positive incentive value by a conditioned stimulus through second-order conditioning, measuring the acquired reinforcing power of a light stimulus
Protocol Steps
First-Order Conditioning: Light-Food Pairings
Rats received light-food pairings intended to endow the light with reinforcing power through classical conditioning
Note: This establishes the light as a conditioned stimulus with acquired reinforcing properties
View evidence from paper
“rats first received light–food pairings intended to endow the light with reinforcing power”
Second-Order Conditioning: Tone-Light Pairings
Tone-light pairings were given in the absence of food to measure the acquired reinforcing power of the light by examining its ability to serve as a reinforcer for second-order conditioning of a tone
Note: The light, now a conditioned stimulus with reinforcing properties from step 1, is used as the reinforcer for the tone
View evidence from paper
“The acquired reinforcing power of the light was then measured by examining its ability to serve as a reinforcer for second-order conditioning of a tone when tone–light pairings were given in the absence of food”