Conditioned Place Preference - Conditioning Procedure

Conditioning Procedure

As in Pavlovian conditioning, an initially neutral stimulus, in this case environmental cues, is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally produces a response prior to conditioning (the unconditioned response). Over time and pairings the neutral stimulus will come to elicit responses similar to the unconditioned response. In conditioned place preference the unconditioned stimulus could be any number of things including food pellets, water, sweet fluid, novel toys, social interaction, drug intoxication, drug withdrawal, foot shock, illness, wheel running or copulation. The initially neutral environmental cues become associated with the motivational properties of the unconditioned stimulus leading to either approach or avoidance of the environment. Often in practice there is a control and treatment group used to strengthen the ability to make causal claims from the results. The treatment group is administered the unconditioned stimulus while the control group is given saline or nothing to control for all elements of the procedure.