Eyeblink Conditioning

Eyeblink conditioning is a form of classical conditioning used extensively to study the neural structures and mechanisms underlying learning and memory. In the standard procedure, an auditory or visual conditioned stimulus is repeatedly paired with an eyeblink-eliciting unconditioned stimulus, such as a mild puff of air to the cornea or a mild shock; a naive animal or person initially produces only a reflexive, unconditioned blink following the puff or shock, but after enough paired trials a learned blink, the conditioned response, comes to occur and to precede the unconditioned stimulus itself. Researchers gauge the strength of the learning by the percentage of paired trials that produce a conditioned response, and under optimal conditions well-trained animals produce a conditioned response on more than 90 percent of trials. The paradigm has been studied across many mammalian species, including mice, rats, guinea pigs, ferrets, cats and humans, with rabbits historically the most popular research subject.