title: Sodium pentobarbital: sensory and associative effects in classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response.
abstract: Four experiments were conducted to determine the effects of sodium pentobarbital (0, 3, 9, and 15 mg/kg) on the acquisition of the rabbit's classically conditioned nictitating membrane response (NMR) and to determine the locus of the drug's effects on sensory, motor, associative, and nonassociative processes. In experiment 1, classical conditioning of the NMR was accomplished by pairing tone and light conditioned stimuli (CSs) with paraorbital shock as the unconditioned stimulus (US). The experiment revealed that pentobarbital retarded the acquisition of conditioned responses (CRs) to both tone and light CSs. Experiment 2, employing unpaired CS, UCS presentations, indicated small but significant drug effects on NMR base rate and nonassociative NMRs to the CS. Experiment 3 revealed no significant drug effect on the psychophysical functions relating UCS intensity to UCR frequency or amplitude, nor on the UCS intensity threshold for eliciting UCRs. On the other hand, in experiment 4, the drug significantly impaired CR frequency over an extended range of CS intensities and raised CS intensity threshold. It was concluded that pentobarbital's attenuation of CS intensity also operated to impair CR acquisition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ghoneim
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gormezano
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001244:Association; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects*; D004597:Electroshock; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009541:Nictitating Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D010424:Pentobarbital