COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Author: GÓMEZ GORDILLO YOLANDA.
Year: 2003.
University: SEVILLA [www.us.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE PSICOLOGÍA.
Place of preparation: FACULTAD DE PSICOLOGÍA.

Summary: Birds, mammals and reptiles can locate the position of a target using different types of keys using space strategies with different characteristics. Thus they can find specific locations in space or through the use of the relationships between observed if all the keys environment, either exclusively using a key or a set of keys, with independence of the relationship that they kept each other . In fish have been described similar learning systems, which could indicate that the characteristics of these systems appear to faithfully preserved in different vertebrate groups, possibly running these functions could have appeared in a common ancestor to amniotas. However, there is a lot of controversy in the manner in which these systems can act. Theories asociacincitas propose that the spatial and non-spatial learning would be governed by the same principles teóriocs. By contrast, the tradition derived from the theory d eO'Keefe and Nadel (1978) suggests the existence of these two systems as a model alaternativo the classical theories of learning. One of the possible solutions to this conflict might lie in the physiological approach. Here it is known that the hippocampus, together with other related structures, plays an important role in learning processes space. Thus, the injury of this structure in birds and mammals alters processes related to ela prendizaje space mediated relations between distal keys, but on the other hand does not affect processes such as learning based on the approximation to a key visual discreet. More specifically, several studies suggest that these mechanisms apendizaje might be mediated by the activation of receptor exciters amino acids, such as glutamate. Thus, the administration of selective NMDA receptor antagonists deteriorates dependent behavior of the hippocampus, suggesting that the recipient desempea an important role in the cognitive functions that involve circuits corticohipocampicos. The objective of this study was to examine in detail the capabilities presenting fish for space travel. The work is oriented towards the study of the basic processes underlying spatial learning in groups of vertebrates to different birds and mammals in order to understand the basic pattern of organization behavior in vertebrates. The work impinges on the study of possible functional similarities between telencéfalo of fish teleósteos hippocampus and medial pallium or other vertebrates. Like the hippocampal formation, the dorsolateral area of teleósteros is rich in NMDA receptor type. These receptors play a crucial role in the learning process or relational space by the mid hippocampus, while a little involvement in the learning process is not relational. In this regard the present work using a dual approach in the study of learning is not relational. In this regard the present work using a dual approach in the study of spatial learning in fish. It was initially examined whether selective blocking of the NMDA receptors and the NOS produces observable effects in the training of a task space as in mammals, birds and reptiles. It was subsequently examined whether blocking these physiological processes affecting selectively learning in general or, conversely, afeca to exclusively learning processes relational space or studied. By blocking the activity fisiol 8 ógica ev 5c4 aluamos if the nature of the learning processes can be reduced to a single system or, conversely, a number of learning systems presnetes in teleósteos, and presumably controlled by neural structures different. The results of this study showed that the NMDA telencefálicos of receivers Carassius auratus, like those present in the hippocampus and medial cortex of mammals, birds and reptiles, and the NOS activity, are selectively involved in the processes of learning and spatial memory mediated guidance systems alocéntricos. Therefore, the results obtained allow to differentiate experimentally in fish two systems segregated learning and memory, based on properties that have different behavioral and neural bases.

Author: GUTIERREZ DOMÍNGUEZ MARÍA TERESA.
Year: 2004.
University: NACIONAL DE EDUCACIÓN A DISTANCIA [www.uned.es].
Place of defense: PSICOLOGÍA.
Place of preparation: FACULTAD DE PSICOLOGÍA.

Summary: The objetivoprincipal of this work has been characterized by anorexia activity in rats and whether anorexia by activity is a conductaadjuntiva.En this thesis describes experiments caractizan anorexia by activity as conduct adjuntiva. This has been studied to manipulate the variables that best characterize behavior ajuntivas: the frequency, magnitude and quality of food, animals exposed to the procedure of anorexia by activity. Also studies have been conducted have confirmed that the degree of relationship between anorexia by activity. Lastly was assessed a procedure context switch to check the effectiveness in preventing delays and the impact resulting from the application of the procedure of anorexia by activity. Completion of this project has helped identify the behavioral mechanisms of anorexia by activity. The results obtained in the invesstigaciónconductural basic fundamental are to be transferred after the manipulation and control of anorexia nervosa he might be simulating naorexia by activity, an animal model to be fully characterized to be more effective as a model pilot this disorder alimentarío.

Author: GÁMEZ MARTÍNEZ ANTONIO MATÍAS.
Year: 2006.
University: JAÉN [www.ujaen.es].
Place of defense: FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES.
Place of preparation: UNIVERSIDAD DE JAÉN.

Summary: The contents of conditioning instrumental in non-human animals have been analyzed extensively in the previous two decades by authors as Rescorla and Colwill. However, this analysis is far more superficial in the case of human beings, with Vega, Vila and Roses (2004) one of the few studies that specifically address this issue. Thus, this thesis aims to shed light on something so important to learn what they learn as human beings from a partnership in a state of instrumental conditioning. This is what partnerships are established, both in the acquisition and in the extinction instrumental, among the three elements involved in a learning situation of this kind: the discriminative stimulus (ED), the answer (R) and the result (H) . The results are presented in three papers published or in the process of publication. With the first one (Paredes-Olay, Abad, Gámez and Roses, 2002) we got a technique that allowed us to replicate the transfer of control of a stimulus to an instrumental response to the shared consequences. In the second (Gámez and Roses, 2005), and perhaps this is the most surprising result, we found that this transfer, and thus the association ED-C, is adversely affected by a process of extinction, contrary to the results previously obtained in non-human animals (Rescorla, 1992). Finally, the third work (Gámez and Roses, in press) shows that in the acquisition of the instrumental response in humans, as is the case with other animals (eg, Colwill, 1994), are associations involved binary ED-C, RC and ED-Ry the association of higher order ED (CR). References: Â Colwill, R. M. (1994). Associative representations of instrumental contingencies.The Psychology of Learnging and motivation, 31, 1-72. Â Gámez, A. M. And Roses, J. M. (2005). Transfer of Stimulus control across Toolkit is attenuated by Responses in Human Extinction Instrumental Conditioning. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 5, 207-222. Â Gámez, A. M. And Roses, J. M. (In press). Associations in human instrumental conditioning. Learning and Motivation. Â Paredes-Olay, C., M. Abad J. F. Gámez, M. And Roses, J. M. (2002). Transfer of control between causal predictive judgments and instrumental responding. Animal Learning & Behavior, 30, 239-248. Â Rescorla, R. A. (1992). Associations between an instrumental discriminative stimulus and multiple outcomes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 18, 95-104. Â Vega, Z., Vila, J. N. And Roses, J. M. (2004). Effect of inflation and devaluation of the impact on the association respuesta-consecuencia a task instrumental with humans. Counseling, 25, 163-179.