Effects of beta-CCE on retention of aversively- and appetitively-motivated tasks in rats.
Beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (beta-CCE; 1.0 or 5.0 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle control was administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats immediately after training in an aversively- or appetitively-motivated task. Aversively-motivated training consisted of a one-trial step-though inhibitory (passive) avoidance task with a 0.6 mA, 1.0 s foot shock. Retention was tested 21 days after training. The 5.0 mg/kg dose of beta-CCE significantly enhanced retention performance in the inhibitory avoidance task compared to the vehicle control. For appetitive training, the animals learned a T-maze for water reward. Retention was tested 48 h later, and neither dose of beta-CCE was found to affect retention performance. These results suggest that beta-CCE, when administered immediately after training, may alter retention performance of an aversively-motivated task but not an appetitive task.
Wichlinski
L J
LJ
Dept. of Psychology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 62901, USA.
Jensen
R A
RA
D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects*; D002243:Carbolines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
D002243:Carbolines; C024915:beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester