Abstract
Rats were trained on a temporal discrimination task in a two-way shuttlebox while inhaling air and tested while inhaling various concentrations of nitrous oxide. The animals successfully performed the tasks even while inhaling 50% nitrous oxide. At this concentration, response latencies increased. At 20% and 35% nitrous oxide, response latencies decreased. An interaction between conditioned fear in the shuttlebox and the sedative effect of nitrous oxide could explain these results. The ability of the rats to perform successfully a temporal task contrasts with results obtained from human subjects by other investigators. This could reflect the effect of nitrous oxide on alertness maintained by fear in rats as against different motivations in human subjects.
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Seligman. M. Personal communication. 1974.
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This paper is sponsored by Burton S. Rosner, who takes full editorial responsibility for its contents.
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Wallenstein, M.C. The effect of nitrous oxide on time estimation in rats. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 8, 118–120 (1976). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335099
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03335099