Abstract
Male rats which had received approximately 21 min of pulsed, inescapable tail shock during a 6-h session in a wheel-turn chamber were markedly deficient in acquisition of an FR 2 crossing escape response in a shuttlebox when first tested 22 or 70 h later (Experiments 1 and 2). Rats which had received identical amounts and patterns of escapable/avoidable shock, however, were not deficient (Experiment 1). Preventing wheel-turn responses during the inescapable shocks prevented the occurrence of the subsequent escape deficit, whereas reducing the feedback provided for the first crossing response of the FR 2 requirement enhanced the deficit (Experiment 3). These data can be best explained by the learned helplessness hypothesis and indicate that the types of responses available and made during the inescapable shocks are more important than previously indicated.
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This research was supported, in part, by PHS RR 7031-10 Biomedical Sciences Support Grant to Indiana University.
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Kelsey, J.E. Escape acquisition following inescapable shock in the rat. Animal Learning & Behavior 5, 83–92 (1977). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209136