Gabriela Vera-Rivera, Departamento de Neurobiología Conductual y Cognitiva, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
María J. Olvera, Departamento de Neurobiología Conductual y Cognitiva, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
María I. Miranda, Departamento de Neurobiología Conductual y Cognitiva, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
Latent inhibition (LI) is defined as the decrease in associative learning when one or more stimuli have been previously experienced without apparent consequences. This narrative review aims to compile the scientific evidence that has contributed to a growing understanding of the LI phenomenon. We begin with a brief chronological overview of how hypotheses and evidence regarding LI have emerged over the decades. We then describe LI theories from the perspective of impaired association due to interruption or discontinuity in acquisition, as well as impaired retrieval stemming from execution deficits during memory recall. In this review, we will present evidence that supports LI as a latent learning model, primarily elucidating how learning is updated through subsequent experiences. We will explain the LI of conditioned taste aversion, an experimental model used in research. Finally, we will mention LI studies that partially explain aspects of certain psychopathologies of learning. Future research on the neurobiology of LI can use these findings to elucidate the complexity of brain plasticity that underlies changes in eating and motivational behavior, including the loss of self-control through constant learning processes (pre-exposures) despite the seriously detrimental health effects.
Keywords: Latent inhibition. Schizophrenia. Pre-exposure. Psychopathology. Gustatory aversive paradigm.
