title: Active avoidance behavior in guinea pigs: effects of physostigmine and scopolamine.
abstract: Behavioral training of guinea pigs by conventional methods, such as used for rats and mice, appears difficult. Hence, only a few behavioral experiments with guinea pigs have been described in the literature. An active avoidance technique in an automated two-way shuttlebox is described using sound as a conditioned (CS) and a tactile stimulus (a stream of air ruffling their fur) as an unconditioned (UCS) stimulus. Acquisition is fairly rapid and reproducible. Doses of physostigmine that caused moderate blood acetylcholinesterase inhibition induced dose-dependent performance decrements. These decrements were counteracted by a sign-free dose of scopolamine.
authors.affiliation: TNO Medical and Biological Lab, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Philippens
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Melchers
authors.forename: O L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Wolthuis
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010830:Physostigmine; D012601:Scopolamine