Attentional responses to stimuli associated with a reward can occur in the absence of knowledge of their predictive values.

Attentional responses to stimuli associated with a reward can occur in the absence of knowledge of their predictive values.
Behav Brain Res. 2017 Dec 13;:
Authors: Fonteneau ML, Scott R, Duka T
Abstract
Classical conditioning theories of addiction suggest that stimuli associated with rewards acquire incentive salience, inducing emotional and attentional conditioned responses. It is not clear whether those responses occur without contingency awareness (CA), i.e. are based on explicit or implicit learning processes. Examining implicit aspects of stimulus-reward associations can improve our understanding of addictive behaviours, supporting treatment and prevention strategies. However, the acquisition of conditioned responses without CA has yet to be rigorously demonstrated, as the existing literature shows a lack of methodological agreement regarding the measurement of implicit and explicit processes. The purpose of two experiments presented here was to study the emotional value acquired by CS through implicit emotional and attentional processes, trying to overcome critical methodological issues. Experiment 1 (n = 48) paired two stimuli categories (houses/buildings) with high (HR) or low (LR) probabilities of monetary reward. An Emotional Attentional Blink revealed preferential attention for HR over LR regardless of CA; while pleasantness ratings were unaffected, probably due to the intrinsic nature of CS. Experiment 2 (n = 60) ...

Source: Behavioural Brain Research - December 13, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Fonteneau ML, Scott R, Duka T Tags: Behav Brain Res Source Type: research