Skip to main content
Log in

Differential effects of chlordiazepoxide on simultaneous and successive brightness discrimination learning in rats

  • Animal Studies
  • Original Investigations
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Chlordiazepoxide (CDP) at a dose of 20 mg/kg, i.p. was found to exert a marked disruptive effect on black-white successive discrimination learning in rats, while this effect failed to be obtained on black-gray simultaneous discrimination. Since trials to the learning criterion were found almost equal for saline rats on both successive and simultaneous discrimination tasks, the differential inhibitory effects of CDP could not be accounted for in terms of differences in difficulties of the two tasks. It is suggested that present results might be interpreted in terms of the hypotheses (a) that CDP produces a deficit in the integration of relevant stimulus cues when they were presented across trials or (b) that CDP has a dis-inhibitory effect in that inhibition of dominant response (positional preference) patterns is weakened by the drug, in a manner similar to effects observed in hippocampectomized animals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Correll, R. E., Scoville, W. B.: Performance on delayed match following lesions of medial temporal lobe structures. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 60, 360–367 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalland, T.: Response and stimulus perseveration on rats with septal and dorsal hippocampal lesions. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 71, 114–118 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hasegawa, Y., Ibuka, N., Iwahara, S.: Effects of chlordiazepoxide upon successive red-green discrimination responses in Japanese monkeys, Macaca fuscata. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 30, 89–94 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwahara, S., Matsushita, K.: Effects of drug-state changes upon black-white discrimination learning in rats. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 19, 347–358 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwahara, S., Oishi, H., Yamazaki, S., Sakai, K.: Effects of chlordiazepoxide upon spontaneous alternation and the hippocampal electrical activity in white rats. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 24, 496–507 (1972)

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwahara, S., Sugimura, T.: Effect of chlordiazepoxide on black-white discrimination acquisition and reversal in white rats. (In Japanese with an English abstract) Jap. J. Psychol. 41, 142–150 (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimble, D. P.: The effects of bilateral hippocampal lesions in rats. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 56, 273–283 (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimble, D. P., Kimble, R. J.: Hippocampectomy and response perseveration. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 60, 474–476 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lash, L.: Response discriminability and the hippocampus. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 57, 251–256 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  • Niki, H.: Response perseveration following hippocampal ablation in the rat. Jap. psychol. Res. 8, 1–9 (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  • Peretz, E.: Extinction of a food-reinforced response in hippocampectomized cats. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 60, 182–185 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, W. W., Dember, W. N., Brodwick, M.: Alternation and exploration in rats with hippocampal lesions. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 55, 695–700 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wedeking, P. W.: Disinhibition effect of chlordiazepoxide. Psychon. Sci. 15, 232–233 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • Winocur, G., Salzen, E. A.: Hippocampal lesions and transfer behavior in the rat. J. comp. physiol. Psychol. 65, 303–310 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Iwasaki, T., Ezawa, K. & Iwahara, S. Differential effects of chlordiazepoxide on simultaneous and successive brightness discrimination learning in rats. Psychopharmacology 48, 75–78 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423309

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423309

Key words

Navigation