Latent Inhibition and Its Neural Substrates

Book excerpt: Latent Inhibition and Its Neural Substrates describes a neural network model of attentional processes during associative learning, mainly latent inhibition, and shows how variables in the model can be mapped onto different brain regions and neurotransmitters. The result is a neurophysiological model capable of generating predictions and descriptions of numerous experimental results using latent inhibition, including the effects of brain lesions, drug administration, and the combination of both. The model also explains the absence of latent inhibition in acute schizophrenia and its reinstatement by the administration of psychotropic drugs.