Learning

Instrumental conditioning refers to the type of learning in which the probability of a response is altered by a change in the consequences for that response. When a grandmother smiles and says, "Good boy," right after her grandson feeds the dog, the probability that the boy will feed the dog again is increased. Relatively few attempts have been made to create animal models of learning, memory, and aging using instrumental conditioning, and less research has been carried out on aging and instrumental conditioning than has been carried out on aging and classical conditioning.

To summarize the results on instrumental conditioning in aging animals, it appears that there is a consistent deficit that is restricted to the early association of the response with its consequence, but there is less of a difference once a response is established to a criterion level. This may be analogous to small or nonexistent differences in memory between young and older humans once initial learning is equated.

These observations indicate that only under certain circumstances are age-related effects on learning significant. These effects may be overcome by additional training, and they appear to reflect quantitative rather than qualitative differences. In many instances there is intact memory and relearning of previously learned behaviors by older organisms. This result suggests that recent experience involving activation of the neurological elements contributing to learning and memory may ameliorate age-related differences in learning.