During the past 10 years, the study of learned aversions to foods has become one of the most' 'popular" areas of research in animal psychology. Learned aversions to foods are typically produced in the laboratory by first allowing an animal to eat (or drink) some distinctively novel substance and then making the animal' 'ill" in some way, most frequently by either giving it an injection of some "illness" -producing drug such as lithium chloride or by exposing it to a toxic dose of radiation. When an animal that has been treated in this way is subsequently given another opportunity to ingest the same or a similar substance, one usually observes that it will either totally avoid ingesting the substance or that it will consume less of it than a control animal that was not made ill after previously consuming the same substance. This form of learning has attracted the interest of many researchers because there are two apparently striking differences in the acquisition of food aversions and the acquisition of other types of associative learning.

Over the past century, educational psychologists and researchers have posited many theories to explain how individuals learn, i.e. how they acquire, organize and deploy knowledge and skills. The 20th century can be considered the century of psychology on learning and related fields of interest (such as motivation, cognition, metacognition etc.) and it is fascinating to see the various mainstreams of learning, remembered and forgotten over the 20th century and note that basic assumptions of early theories survived several paradigm shifts of psychology and epistemology. Beyond folk psychology and its naïve theories of learning, psychological learning theories can be grouped into some basic categories, such as behaviorist learning theories, connectionist learning theories, cognitive learning theories, constructivist learning theories, and social learning theories. Learning theories are not limited to psychology and related fields of interest but rather we can find the topic of learning in various disciplines, such as philosophy and epistemology, education, information science, biology, and – as a result of the emergence of computer technologies – especially also in the field of computer sciences and artificial intelligence. As a consequence, machine learning struck a chord in the 1980s and became an important field of the learning sciences in general. As the learning sciences became more specialized and complex, the various fields of interest were widely spread and separated from each other; as a consequence, even presently, there is no comprehensive overview of the sciences of learning or the central theoretical concepts and vocabulary on which researchers rely. The Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning provides an up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the specific terms mostly used in the sciences of learning and its related fields, including relevant areas of instruction, pedagogy, cognitive sciences, and especially machine learning and knowledge engineering. This modern compendium will be an indispensable source of information for scientists, educators, engineers, and technical staff active in all fields of learning. More specifically, the Encyclopedia provides fast access to the most relevant theoretical terms provides up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the most important theories within the various fields of the learning sciences and adjacent sciences and communication technologies; supplies clear and precise explanations of the theoretical terms, cross-references to related entries and up-to-date references to important research and publications. The Encyclopedia also contains biographical entries of individuals who have substantially contributed to the sciences of learning; the entries are written by a distinguished panel of researchers in the various fields of the learning sciences.

Conditioned taste aversion is arguably the most important learning process that humans and animals possess because it prevents the repeated self-administration of toxic food. It has not only profoundly influenced the content and direction of learning theory, but also has important human nutritional and clinical significance. In addition to its direct relevance to food selection, dietary habits, and eating disorders, it is significant for certain clinical populations that develop it as a consequence of their treatment. The study of conditioned taste aversions has invigorated new theory and research on drug conditioning and addictions, as well as on conditioned immunity. There has also been a substantial amount of recent research exploring the neural substrates of conditioned taste aversion--its neuroanatomy, pharmacology, and role in the molecular and cellular basis of plasticity.This book provides a definitive perspective on the current state of research, theory, and clinical applications for conditioned taste aversion effects and methodology. In each chapter, a leading scholar in the field presents a broad range of studies, along with current findings on the topic, highlighting both the major theoretical landmarks and the significant new perspectives. It will be an important resource for both professional and student researchers, who study conditioning, learning, plasticity, eating disorders, and dietary and ingestive behaviors in neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, psychopharmacology, and medicine.

Insect Learning is a comprehensive review of a new field. Until recently, insects were viewed as rigidly programmed automatons; now, however, it is recognized that they can learn and that their behavior is plastic. This fundamental change in viewpoint is causing a re-examination of all aspects of the relationship between insects and their environment. This change in perspective is occurring at a time of heightened interest in brain function in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Insects potentially play a major role in this expanding area. Because of their experimental tractability and genetic diversity, they provide unique opportunities for testing hypotheses on the ecology and evolution of learning. As organisms of economic importance, they are perennial objects of research by both basic and applied scientists. Insect Learning covers both social and non-social insects from multiple perspectives. The book covers mechanisms; syntheses of work on physiology, behavior, and ecology; and micro- and macroevolution. The concluding section discusses future directions for research, including applications to pest management.

The articles in this volume are collected from a ground-breaking symposium held at Baylor University. They are organized under the topics of Comparative Perspectives, The Development of Food Preferences, Food Aversion Learning, Long-Delay Learning, Non-Gustatory Aspects of Food Aversion Learning, and Pharmacological Aspects of Food Aversion Learning.