Classical conditioning is a technique of behavior modification, it uses two different stimuli, one which already causes a certain behavior, and the other which the experimenter wants to begin causing that same behavior. The first stimulus is presented along with the second stimulus, and after enough repetitions, the subject learns to engage in the behavior when the second stimulus is presented alone.
In class, when we were learning about the concept of conditioning, I kept wondering what the limits to this extraordinary method of behavior control were. In a way, it seems like almost all of our behavior is defined by conditioning (that is, almost all of our behavior seems learned), from walking and talking to reading and interacting with people. Even the way we deal with undesirable situations and our own shortcomings seem learned to some extent. For example, if we learn, early on, how to behave a certain way towards certain situations, could those behaviors be changed later on in life by using conditioning techniques? The concept of conditioning is extremely important, in that, it has countless practical implications and uses. One such use is (famously) discussed in the fictional book (and movie) A Clockwork Orange. In the movie, a brazen and habitual criminal is put in prison and is selected to be part of an experiment regarding conditioning and criminal behavior. He's put through a series of treatments that couple a deathly sick feeling with videos of rape and violence. After treatment, he cannot stand to hurt another person, even if that person is harming him. The conditioned response (sick feeling) always outweighs the potential benefits of engaging in rape or violence. Of course, the conditioned response does not need to be a punishment, but the example in A Clockwork Orange still a good example of using conditioning for practical purposes.
The idea of conditioning became even more interesting when I began learning about Oxytocin and Vasopressin (hormones associated with love and companionship) in my biology class. If conditioning is really as powerful as I've read, could someone hypothetically control the hormone balance while presenting specific stimuli to the subject in order to significantly encourage certain behaviors like helping others or working hard? If I wanted to love exercising, but didn't, would taking a Vasopressin supplement while exercising help?
bens0443: October 2011 Archives
During the BBC program on consciousness, a number of subtopics on consciousness were discussed, including a brief description of where consciousness may actually reside, physically, within the brain. One part of the brain, the Thalamus, is something of a relay station for sensory information; all senses (aside from olfactory) have a Thalamic nucleus, that is, all senses have their information routed through the Thalamus at some point. When Marcus de Sautoy attempts to locate consciousness within the brain by asking one of the researchers, the researcher tells him about the Thalamic loop, which consists of sensory information being distributed to parts of the brain for processing, and then being rerouted back into the Thalamus. If there was a part of the brain that was directly linked to conscious thought, this would likely be it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Biv_8xjj8E&feature=player_detailpage#t=1017s
This picture is of an fMRI taken of Marcus while in a dreamlike or semiconscious state. He is imagining playing tennis.
Notice that the Thalamus doesn't particularly display much activity.
