Pavlovian biconditional discrimination learning in the C57BL/6J Mouse

Four experiments using mice examined acquisition of Pavlovian biconditional discriminations in which two stimulus compounds were paired with food (AX+ and BY+) and two were not (AY− and BX−). Temporally asynchronous compounds were generated by using contextual stimuli (Experiment 1) and 15-s discrete visual cues (Experiments 2A, 2B and 3) to disambiguate when embedded noise or tone stimuli would be paired with food. When food pellets followed both reinforced compounds, successful acquisition was obtained in Experiment 1 but not in Experiments 2A and 2B even though the order of trials was modeled after that used in Experiment 1. However, when differential outcomes followed the reinforced compounds in Experiment 3, acquisition was obtained with discrete cue stimulus compounds. The implications of these results for modulatory models of conditional discrimination learning in animals are discussed.

► C57BL/6J mice exhibit Pavlovian biconditional discrimination learning.
► The use of contextual cues and differential outcomes facilitate this type of discrimination learning.
► Mice did not solve discrete cue biconditional discriminations with nondifferential outcomes.
► Various modulatory analyses can account for these discrepancies in learning.