Abstract
110, 210, and 310 day old rats were trained to display immobility and defecation in a grid box while under the influence of 0, 0.5, 1.5, or 2.5 mg/kg reserpine. Drug injections were given every 48 hours and began 7 days prior to training. Acquisition consisted of one training trial per day for 5 days, and was followed by 5 days of extinction at the rate of two trials per day. The results showed substantial dose-dependent weight losses over all three age groups. Weight loss was found also to be a function of the training procedure, with the younger rats showing the greatest decrements. In addition, it was determined that reserpine-treated animals experienced considerable difficulty learning a new motor and visceral response, thereby raising the possibility that reserpine treatment and instrumental blood pressure conditioning may be incompatible procedures for controlling essential hypertension. In addition, it was suggested that age of the adult subject be included more frequently as an independent variable in further behavioral and pharmacological studies.
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All drugs used in this project were donated by the Pharmacy Research Division of CIBA Pharmaceutical Company, Summit, New Jersey 07901. We are indebted to Behavior Science Industries, Ltd. for partial financial support. A preliminary report of these data was presented at the American Psychological Association meetings in New Orleans, 1974.
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Elder, S.T., McLean, J.H. Motor and Visceral Learning Deficits in Reserpine-Treated Rats. Psychol Rec 26, 233–241 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394381
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03394381