Psyche Teaser II – Mechanism of Conditioning
The question of How conditioning occurs is one of the oldest controversies in learning
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition – Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)
Pavlov & others believed it was a neocortical phenomenon. It was the only level of the nervous system with the plasticity necessary for the development of what appears to be new connections between stimulus & response.
Later experiments showed that condition can be induced in decorticate animals (Hilgard & Marquis 1940) in spinal preparations (Dykman & Shurrager, 1956) more recently single neurons exhibit responses that are considered to be conditioned (Tarc, 1967) Consequently, the capacity for conditioning is now regarded as a generalized property of neurons, not necessarily dependent upon the organization of a higher nervous system (This is akin to ‘Joe public’ able to function without government)
Another point of uncertainty has been the relationship of somatic muscular movement to conditioning because it was supposed that a feedback to the nervous system from the skeletal muscles was needed for the conditioning process.
The truth of this concept has been tested through the use of drugs, et. curare, that block somatic movement.
Conditioning does occur in animals under the influence of curare, and the conditioning persists into the post curare period. (Back et el, 1962) (Solomon and Turner 1962) In fact, Miller (1969) reported that “learning” was actually facilitated by administration of curare. He suggested that this was because the drug removed “…interference from skeletal responses and distraction from irrelevant cues” (p. 444)
Ref: Best & Taylor’s Physiological Basis of Medical Practice editor John R Brobect PhD MD p. 9-162, 162
Questions to get better results
- Do you have a Learning Program? … or a smart learning program?
- How effective is this program?
- What condition is your condition in?
- Who is responsible for your personal and environmental conditions?
It is your programming no matter how you look at it (i.e. passive, active or resisted)!
- Who is pushing your buttons, and what are you going to do about it?
Don’t ask what someone can do for you without first asking what you can do for yourself!
Learn to push your own buttons, and maybe … There … Will … Be … Know … Need.
Related Articles
Music Reference
YouTube – Kenny Rogers & The First Edition – Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)