title: Effects of a corneal anesthetic on extinction of the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response in the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
abstract: Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were presented with 7 daily sessions of tone-alone training after conditioning. Before the beginning of each of the first 4 extinction sessions, an artificial tear solution or tetracaine hydrochloride was administered to the cornea of rabbits in the control group (n = 6) and experimental group (n = 7), respectively. There were no between-group differences in the percentage of conditioned responses between both groups. However, the amplitude of the conditioned response was notably reduced in the tetracaine group (M = 0.40, SEM +/- 0.216) relative to the control group (M = 1.32, SEM +/- 0.639) early in extinction. Results seem to suggest that although motor output has been found to play an important role in extinction, corneal sensory feedback is not necessary.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-2520, USA. krobleto@usc.edu
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Robleto
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Poulos
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000777:Anesthetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009541:Nictitating Membrane / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits; D013748:Tetracaine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D013748:Tetracaine