Contextual learning and context effects during infancy: 30 years of controversial research

REVILLO DA.; COTELLA, E.; PAGLINI MG.; ARIAS C.

PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015

0031-9384

Over the last 30 years a considerable number of reports have explored learning about context during infancyin both humans and rats. This research was stimulated by two different theoretical frameworks. The first,known as the neuromaturational model, postulates that learning and behavior are context-independentduring early ontogeny, a hypothesis based on the idea that contextual learning is dependent on the hippocampalfunction, and that this brain structure does not reach full maturity until late in infancy. The secondtheoretical framework views infants not as immature organisms, but rather as perfectly matured ones,given that their behavioral and cognitive capacities allow them to adapt appropriately to the demands oftheir specific environment in accordance with their maturational level. This model predicts significant ontogeneticvariations in learning and memory due to developmental differences in what is perceived andattended to during learning episodes, which can result in ontogenetic differences in contextual learningdepending on the specific demands of the task. The presentmanuscript reviews those studies that have examinedpotential developmental differences in contextual learning and context effects in rats. The reviewedresults show that, during infancy, context can exert a similar influence over learning and memory as thatdescribed for the adult rat. Moreover, in some cases, contextual learning and context effects were greaterin infants than in adults. In contrast, under other experimental conditions, no evidence of contextual learningor context effects was observed. We analyzed the procedural factors of these studies with the aim ofdetecting those that favor or impede contextual learning during infancy, and we discussedwhether existingempirical evidence supports the claim that the functionality of the hippocampus is a limiting factor for thistype of learning during infancy. Finally, conclusions fromhuman research into contextual learning capacitiesduring infancy were also examined. In view of the wealth of evidence showing contextual learning andcontext effects during infancy, we suggest that future research aimed at exploring the involvement of thehippocampus in this type of learning should be conducted using parameters which allow the expressionof contextual learning during each ontogenetic period.