Abstract
Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) given immediate posttraining injections of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) exhibited improved acquisition of difficult discrimination-learning problems (Experiment 2) but not of easy problems (Experiment 1). Optimal facilitation occurred at a dosage of 10 mg/kg. In two further experiments, the interval between training and the injection of 10 mg/kg of PTZ was varied and optimal facilitation occurred at the 15-min interval. At the 30-min interval, facilitation was absent and error rates were as high as the saline controls, but at the 60-min interval a lower error rate was again seen. All findings were remarkably similar to those previously reported in mice, suggesting a common mechanism for the effect of PTZ on simple discrimination learning in both species. Through the use of the monkey, the potential enhancement of more complex learning by drugs is now accessible to investigation.
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This research was supported in part by Grant MH-11894 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Grant ESO1062 from the National Institutes of Health.
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Bowman, R.E., Heironimus, M.P. & Harlow, H.F. Pentylenetetrazol: Posttraining injection facilitates discrimination learning in rhesus monkeys. Psychobiology 7, 265–268 (1979). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326638
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03326638