UNASSIGNED: Pavlovian conditioning underlies many aspects of @entity158 behavior, including fear and threat detection [1], escape and avoidance learning [2], and endogenous analgesia [3]. Although a central role for the amygdala is well established [4], both @entity1 and animal studies implicate other brain regions in learning, notably ventral striatum and cerebellum [5]. It remains unclear whether these regions make different contributions to a single aversive learning process or represent independent learning mechanisms that interact to generate the expression of @entity158 -related behavior. We designed a @entity1 parallel aversive conditioning paradigm in which different Pavlovian visual cues probabilistically predicted @entity158 primarily to either the left or right arm and studied the acquisition of conditioned Pavlovian responses using combined physiological recordings and fMRI. Using computational modeling based on reinforcement learning theory, we found that conditioning involves two distinct types of learning process. First,  a non-specific "preparatory" system learns aversive facial expressions and autonomic responses such as skin conductance. The associated learning signals-the learned associability and prediction error-were correlated with fMRI brain responses in amygdala-striatal regions, corresponding to the classic aversive (fear) learning circuit. Second, a specific lateralized system learns "consummatory" limb-withdrawal responses, detectable with electromyography of the arm to which @entity158 is predicted. Its related learned associability was correlated with responses in @entity76 , suggesting a novel computational role for the cerebellum in @entity158 . In conclusion, our results show that the overall phenotype of conditioned @entity158 behavior depends on two dissociable reinforcement learning circuits.

Dissociable Learning Processes Underlie XXXX Pain Conditioning.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human'] @entity76 :: ('MESH:D002526', 'Disease') :: ['ipsilateral cerebellar cortex'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain', 'thermal pain']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['Human']
