Trace Conditioning

Trace conditioning is a type of classical conditioning in which the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and conditioned stimulus (CS) are presented separately with an interval of time in between. Understanding of the UCS and CS are best explained with an example of salivating dogs. The UCS is the smell of food which causes the unconditioned response of salivation by the dogs. When the UCS is paired with the neutral stimulus of a bell tone eventually a relationship will develop between the two. The bell tone will become a CS and cause the dogs to salivate without the presence of the UCS. In trace conditioning the CS and UCS are not presented together and don't overlap. This differs from classical delay conditioning in which there is a delay but the CS and UCS overlap for a time. For trace conditioning to happen the brain needs to form a mental representation of the conditioned stimulus after it has ended. This is called a stimulus trace.