Abstract
In three experiments, rats were trained to avoid electric shock in a free-operant leverpress procedure. After stable performance was obtained, sessions were suspended for periods of 1 to 4 weeks. In 24 of 28 Ss, shock rates were lower, some by as much as 75%, when avoidance sessions were resumed. This improvement extended throughout the entire 60-100-min session, and occurred despite variations in apparatus, strain of rat, length or efficacy of prevacation training, lesions in the amygdala, and unshocked exposure to the apparatus during “vacation.”
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In conducting the research described in this report, the investigators adhered to the “Guide for Laboratory Animal Facilities and Care,” as promulgated by the Committee on Revision of the Guide for Laboratory Animal Facilities and Care of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Academy of Science-National Research Council.
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Manning, F.J., Jackson, M.C. & McDonough, J.H. A simple method of improving leverpress avoidance by rats. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 4, 5–8 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334174
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334174