McConnell’s Struggle With Critics Over Invertebrate Learning

Today invertebrate learning is well established (Abramson,
Lyn Yvonne Abramson is a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
 
 
 
 
  1994) as a robust, long-lasting, ecologically valid phenomenon (Krasne & Glanzman, 1995), presupposed by the scientists who work on the molecular dissection of memory (DeZazzo & Tully, 1995). In McConnell’s day, the critics simply did not believe that invertebrates could learn.
The original Thompson and McConnell (1955) study, a demonstration of Pavlovian conditioning in planaria, is a classic article on invertebrate learning (Abramson, 1994). It launched McConnell’s career. Planaria live in water and normally glide along the bottom of pools on slime trails they lay down. The classical conditioning trials were administered while the planarian was gliding in water from one end of a foot-long trough to the other. Rather than recording the CR automatically, Thompson and McConnell followed a more ecological tradition of comparative psychology and used naturalistic observation to score contraction. For the experimental group, which consisted of the pairing of a light from above with shock through the water, the percentage of trials with a contraction CR increased modestly from about 2% during the first 50 trials to 10% during the last 50 trials. Another response, turns which were more common, increased from a high baseline of about 25% to a conditioned rate of 35%. For the three control groups (light alone, shock alone, and a naive group with neither a CS nor an unconditioned stimulus [US]), the rate of contractions did not change.
Thompson and McConnell were graduate students of M. E. Bitterman at the University of Texas. Bitterman, a distinguished comparative psychologist, had studied with Schneirla,
Theodore Christian Schneirla was an American animal psychologist who performed some of the first studies on the behavior patterns of army ants.
 
 
 
  so these students inherited a great tradition of comparative psychology. McConnell’s first struggle over planarian learning was with his mentor, Bitterman, and it occurred before the article was even submitted for publication. Bitterman (1975), who wanted a control group with unpaired presentations of light and shock, left us with a very critical commentary on the scientific skills of his neophytes.
A Neophyte is a recent initiate or convert to a subject or belief.
 
 
 
  Here is Bitterman’s retrospection: Is it really so difficult to understand that CS-alone and US-alone groups do not, even together, controlforthe effects ofstimulation per se on an experimental group exposed to both stimuli?… Not only are the controls employedin the search forinvertebrate learning generally inadequate, but the techniques are crude and subjective. (Bitterman, 1975 p. 140) Bitterman’s critique raises an important question about the conflict between novice innovators and established scientists. Creative—especially young—scientists may want to publish innovative findings as rapidly as possible to establish their reputations, sometimes even before the technique is perfected and all of the relevant variables are understood. More established scientists, whose reputations are secure, want to protect the literature from unreplicable phenomena and poorly controlled experiments. Here, the conflict was resolved in favor of publication byHarry Harlow, editor of the Journal of Comparative and physiological Psychology. History shows that Harlow made the right decision.
In 1955, Harlow wanted to publish articles using nontraditional (i.e., nonrat) species because of a famous article by Beach
Frank Ambrose Beach, Jr. was an American ethologist, best known as co-author of the 1951 book Patterns of Sexual Behavior.
 
 
 
  (1950) called The Snark Was a Boojum. Beach’s point was that the journal was becoming a journal of rat psychology, so he called for a greater variety of species. A game that a sophisticated reviewer for a journal can always play with a novice investigator who is moving a line of work in a new direction is to demand additional control groups that are different from those used in the article under review. By relaxing the editorial criterion for originality, some flaky articles will be published, but then other scientists can sort out the issues by running replications that include the inevitably necessary controls.

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35 Best Science Jokes

Окончание Назад

1. What did one tectonic plate say when he bumped into the other?
   Sorry! My fault.
2. What did the biologist wear to impress his date?
   Designer genes.
3. What did the stamen say to the pistil?
   I like your style!
4. What type of fish is made out of 2 sodium atoms?
   Na.
5. What do you call an accountant for the biology department?
   A buy-ologist.
6. What is the quickest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?
   Pull down its genes.
7. What kind of tree can be placed into your hand?
   A palm tree.
8. What do rich clouds do?
   They make it rain!
9. Why are chemists excellent for solving problems?
   They have all the solutions.
10. What did the volcano say to his beautiful wife?
    I lava you.
11. What do you call a FISH with no eyes?
    A FSH.
12. Why is it bad to trust atoms?
    They make up everything!
13. How can you know a tree is a dogwood tree?
    By its bark!
14. What should you call a pig who knows karate?
    A porkchop!
15. What do you call it when a biologist takes a photo of himself?
    A cell-fie.
16. What kind of hair does the ocean have?
    Wavy hair.
17. What type of dogs do chemists own?
    Laboratory Retrievers.
18. What do you call a fly that lands on the butter?
    A butterfly!
19. What is a tornado’s favorite classic game to play?
    Twister.
20. What does Earth say to make fun of the other planets?
    You guys have no life.
21. How do trees surf on the internet?
    They log in!
22. What did one cell tell his sister cell when she stepped on his toe?
    Ouch! That’s mitosis.
23. What did the tree wear to his friend’s pool party?
    Swimming trunks.
24. What kinds of books do planets usually like to read?
    Comet books.
25. How do you know that Saturn has been married multiple times?
    Because she has a lot of rings!
26. How would you be able to cut the sea in half?
    With a see-saw!
27. Which type of books are the hardest to get through?
    Friction books.
28. What does blood say when it’s trying to be optimistic?
    B Positive.
29. What kind of music do planets dance to?
    Nep-tunes!
30. WWhat was the first Electricity Detective’s name?
    Sherlock Ohms.
31. Why did Mickey Mouse decide to go to space?
    To see Pluto!
32. What did one ion say to another?
    I’ve got my ion you.
33. How much room does fungi need in order to grow?
    As mushroom as possible.
34. How do astronauts organize a successful surprise party?
    They planet.
35. What did the thermometer tell the graduated cylinder?
    Check out…

Текст публикуется по Parade