Abstract
Two experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects of the neuropeptide Substance P (SP) on habituation performance in rats. Habituation was measured in an open field by recording the number of rearings during 2 min of free exploration. Training and test sessions were identical and 24 h apart. The animals were injected i.p. immediately after the training trial in doses of 0.5,1, 5, 50,100, or 250 μg/kg SP; control animals were injected with diluent vehicle or were not injected at all. The 50 μg/kg SP treatment group showed significantly better performance than the other groups. In the second experiment, 50 μg/kg SP or vehicle was injected either immediately or 5 h after training. Only the group in which SP was injected immediately after the training trial showed significantly better performance when tested 24 h later. These results suggest that SP does not exert its effect by a long-lasting proactive action on performance during the testing trial.
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This research was supported by grants from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil, to C. Tomaz. M. S. Aguiar was supported by fellowship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. We thank J. L. Castreghini for his skillful technical assistance.
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Aguiar, M.S., Tomaz, C. Enhanced habituation produced by posttrial peripheral injection of substance P. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 28, 204–206 (1990). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334004
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334004