Context Emergence through Stimulus Competition in Extinction Learning

In extinction learning, contextual renewal occurs when an extinguished response reemerges due to a contextual shift. But what determines which stimuli function as context? Rather than being an inherent property of the environment, we propose that context emerges from competition among multiple stimuli. Using a novel paradigm in pigeons, we systematically assessed the relative influence of local, spatial, and global stimuli in driving contextual renewal. Our results reveal that renewal depends on the competitive dynamics between these stimuli, rather than any single cue acting as context by default. This challenges traditional definitions of context as a passive background and suggests that context should be operationalized based on its interaction with other available cues. Understanding these competitive mechanisms provides a framework for studying how attention and learning shape contextual control in extinction.