Abstract
Rats were first taught to displace a pole in order to escape a 1.0-mA shock to the feet. During a subsequent test session, 60 random presentations of several intensities of shock were used to generate psychophysical response curves and estimate escape thresholds. The median escape threshold for 48 rats was 0.18 mA using this procedure. The results are compared to other threshold procedures designed to assess the aversiveness of electric shock.
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This research was supported by Contract Nonr-2993(00) between the U.S. Office of Naval Research and Stanford Research Institute.
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Pryor, G.T. Escape thresholds to electric shock using a conditioned pole-displacement response in rats. Psychon Sci 20, 305–306 (1970). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329081
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03329081