We present results of a study investigating evaluative learning in dementia patients with a classic evaluative conditioning paradigm. Picture pairs of three unfamiliar faces with liked, disliked, or neutral faces, that were rated prior to the presentation, were presented 10 times each to a group of dementia patients (N = 15) and healthy controls (N = 14) in random order. Valence ratings of all faces were assessed before and after presentation. In contrast to controls, dementia patients changed their valence ratings of unfamiliar faces according to their pairing with either a liked or disliked face, although they were not able to explicitly assign the picture pairs after the presentation. Our finding suggests preserved evaluative conditioning in dementia patients. However, the result has to be considered preliminary, as it is unclear which factors prevented the predicted rating changes in the expected direction in the control group. 1. Introduction The majority of our likes and dislikes we acquire throughout the lifespan are the product of learning [1]. One of the most important ways through which stimuli acquire affective meaning is the change of valence that results from pairing one stimulus (CS) with a positive or negative affective stimulus (UCS). As a result, the CS acquires a valence congruent with the affective value of the UCS. This effect is called (associative) evaluative conditioning and has been demonstrated in humans with a large variety of procedures and stimuli (e.g., [2–4]; for a meta-analysis see [5]). In dementia severely impaired explicit memory is the core feature. Nonetheless, patients with dementia might still be able to implicitly learn affective reactions through the process of evaluative conditioning. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study applied this approach in dementia patients. Another classical paradigm that has already been used to investigate conditioning of affective reactions in this population is fear conditioning. Indeed, two studies indicate that fear conditioning is impaired in dementia patients [6, 7]. Even though fear conditioning is impaired, evaluative conditioning might still be possible in dementia patients. Some researchers have argued that while on a procedural level evaluative conditioning is similar to fear conditioning, the underlying processes might be different. It was hypothesized that fear conditioning is an instance of signal learning; it is learned that the UCS is going to appear after the presentation of the CS [8]. Evaluative conditioning, on the other hand, only involves a reference to
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