Interspecies variations in eyeblink conditioning

Abstract

A central assumption in neuroscience is that learning mechanisms are conserved across species. Eyeblink conditioning, a cornerstone paradigm for studying associative learning and cerebellar function, has been widely used in humans and animal models alike. Yet direct cross-species comparisons remain rare. In this systematic review, we analyzed 484 eyeblink conditioning experiments reported in 271 studies spanning humans, rabbits, rats, mice, as well as individual studies in other species. Our findings reveal consistent interspecies differences in acquisition rates, timing parameters, and stimulus protocols, with notable variation even within species. These results challenge the assumption of mechanistic equivalence across species and highlight the limitations of generalizing neural mechanisms from one species to another.

Keywords: Acquisition rate; Animal Models; Associative learning; Cerebellar function; Cerebellar timing; Cerebellum; Classical conditioning; Eyeblink conditioning; Interspecies.comparison; Interstimulus interval; Learning curves; Neural plasticity; Systematic review; Translational.neuroscience.