Running-wheel avoidance learning in rats (Rattus norvegicus): effects of contingencies and comparisons of different strains.
In Experiment 1, we showed that active- and passive-avoidance responding in a running wheel was learned because of the avoidance contingency. In Experiment 2, strain differences among four commercially bred rats were assessed in an active-avoidance paradigm. Wistar, Donryu, and Fischer rats learned faster than Sprague-Dawleys. In Experiment 3, learning in a multiple active/passive avoidance schedule was examined, and both components of this task were learned. This multiple schedule was used to investigate strain differences in selectively bred rats in Experiments 4 and 5. Tsukuba low-emotional (TLE) rats responded more than Tsukuba high-emotional (THE) rats in both components. However, discrimination of passive components was better in THE than in TLE rats. Syracuse high-avoidance rats were superior in the active component, whereas Syracuse low-avoidance rats showed superior performance in the passive component.
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Department of Psychology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan.
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Fujii
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Shimazaki
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D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D004597:Electroshock; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013045:Species Specificity; D014163:Transfer, Psychology