Abstract
In Experiments 1 and 2, rats were exposed to a classical conditioning procedure in which saccharin and lithium chloride (LiCl) were paired with an injection of antigen. Relative to control groups, the conditioned animals that received additional saccharin and LiC1 presentations showed significantly higher antibody levels. These experiments demonstrate that classical conditioning procedures are sufficient to establish conditioned reflexes in which stimuli (which were previously neutral with respect to the immune system) enhance antibody production.
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Experiment 1 was conducted while the first author was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Psychology Department of the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Experiment 2 was conducted in the laboratories of John A. Nevin and Thomas G. Pistole, with partial support from NSF Grant BNS 79-24082, NSF Grant PCM 8022074, and the University of New Hampshire. We thank Eric Brandin, David Bree, Mary Bullivant, Roger Hill, John Marbrook, Thomas Miller, John Milkens, Thomas G. Pistole, John Tull, and Don Webster for assistance in conducting these experiments.
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Jenkins, P.E., Chadwick, R.A. & Nevin, J.A. Classically conditioned enhancement of antibody production. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 21, 485–487 (1983). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330016
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03330016