Abstract
Squirrel monkeys were presented with two stimuli in alternation, separated by time out periods during which neither was present. One was white noise accompanied by irregularly spaced pulses of shock, the other continuous shock at a lower intensity. Following an interval of time which varied in an unpredictable sequence, the next depression of the response lever turned the stimulus off. The schedule on which termination was possible was identical for the two stimuli, and the intensity of the continuous shock was adjusted to a level that produced approximately equal frequencies of pressing, typically from 40 to 80 responses per minute.
Doses of chlordiazepoxide ranging from 2.5 to 10.0 mg/kg, i.p., produced a significantly greater decrease in the rate of response in the presence of the continuous shock than in the presence of the noise. On the other hand, doses of chlorpromazine ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 mg/kg, i.p., produced no differential effect. Previous findings of selective action on behavior that terminates signals paired with shock (avoidance) may be related to differences in experimental contingencies or in the pre-drug strength of the two performances compared, rather than to the effect of chlorpromazine on an experimental analogue of human anxiety.
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This investigation was supported by PHS Grant No. MH 03648 from the National Institute of Mental Health. Portions of the data were reported at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York City, 1966.
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Dinsmoor, J.A., Bonbright, J.C. & Lilie, D.R. A controlled comparison of drug effects on escape from conditioned aversive stimulation (“anxiety”) and from continuous shock. Psychopharmacologia 22, 323–332 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406871
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406871