Extinction Learning in the 4th Dimension (A01)

• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 316803389

The project aims to understand neural fundaments of extinction of appetitive conditioning in pigeons. Our behavioral design permits us to analyze neural events governing acquisition, context dependent extinction and renewal along the full time-frame - the 4th dimension. We combine single cell recordings, fMRI and optogenetic approaches in awake pigeons. Thus, we can analyze the extinction network at the level of single cells, cellular networks and the whole brain. By studying the pigeon as an animal model, we aim to discover variant as well as invariant properties of extinction learning in terms of behavior and neurobiology. Our experimental focus is placed on the properties of context as well as on the influence of acute stress on extinction learning.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1280: Extinction Learning
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Onur Güntürkün; Dr. Roland Pusch