Interhemispheric transfer of extinction of the active avoidance reaction in rats.
Cortical spreading depression (CSD) was employed in rats to study the lateralization of extinction of a jumping avoidance reaction. Under unilateral CSD, 181 nonreinforced trials were needed to extinguish the avoidance reaction acquired in three 100-trial sessions of intact-brain training. During a second extinction session, either with the same or with the contralateral hemisphere depressed, the mean number of trials to the extinction criterion (9/10) was 39 (n = 12) or 186 (n = 15), respectively. Five extinction trials performed with the brain intact 1 hr before extinction with contralateral CSD decreased the number of trials to extinction of 98 (n = 11). Thus, extinction of active avoidance can be lateralized and interhemispherically transferred in the same way as acquisition of this habit.
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D013181:Cortical Spreading Depression; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D007257:Information Theory; D051381:Rats; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology