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Science 30 January 1981:
Vol. 211. no. 4481, pp. 501 - 504
DOI: 10.1126/science.7455692
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Articles

Science, Vol 211, Issue 4481, 501-504
Copyright © 1981 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Associative learning in Aplysia: cellular correlates supporting a conditioned fear hypothesis

TJ Carew, ET Walters, and ER Kandel

Aversive associative learning in Aplysia california survives restraint of the animal and surgical exposure of the central nervous system. The learning is expressed in the intracellularly recorded activity of identified motor neurons mediating three different defensive behaviors: escape locomotion, inking, and siphon withdrawal. In each case, animals that had previously received paired training showed significant facilitation of synaptic input to motor neurons during test stimulation in the presence of the conditioned stimulus. Animals without such training showed no facilitation of input to the motor neurons. Resting potential and input resistance appeared unaffected by conditioning and were not altered by application of the conditioned stimulus. These results show that the conditioned facilitation of defensive responses cannot be explained by subthreshold actions of the conditioned stimulus on the motor neurons and support the hypothesis that Aplysia learn to associate the conditioned stimulus with a fearlike central state.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Multiple Serotonergic Mechanisms Contributing to Sensitization in Aplysia: Evidence of Diverse Serotonin Receptor Subtypes.
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Classical Conditioning of Feeding in Aplysia: II. Neurophysiological Correlates.
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Membrane changes in a single photoreceptor cause associative learning in Hermissenda.
J Farley, W. Richards, L. Ling, E Liman, and D. Alkon (1983)
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A cellular mechanism of classical conditioning in Aplysia: activity-dependent amplification of presynaptic facilitation.
R. Hawkins, T. Abrams, T. Carew, and E. Kandel (1983)
Science 219, 400-405
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Associative conditioning of single sensory neurons suggests a cellular mechanism for learning.
E. Walters and J. Byrne (1983)
Science 219, 405-408
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Molecular biology of learning: modulation of transmitter release.
E. Kandel and J. Schwartz (1982)
Science 218, 433-443
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Associative Learning in Aplysia: evidence for conditioned fear in an invertebrate.
E. Walters, T. Carew, and E. Kandel (1981)
Science 211, 504-506
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