title: Acquisition and retention of enhanced active avoidance are unaffected by interference with serotonergic activity.
abstract: Pre-training administration of p-chloroamphetamine (PCA) produces reliable deficits of avoidance learning. When animals are trained in inhibitory avoidance with relatively high foot-shock intensities, other amnesic treatments have no effect. The present experiment was conducted to determine if this protective effect of high foot shock is also observed after administration of PCA (10mg/kg, i.p., injected 7 days before training; this dose produces a lesion of central serotonin neurons). Rats were trained in active avoidance (a single 20-trial session), administering shocks of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, or 1.4 mA to independent groups of rats. When compared to saline-injected groups trained with the same intensities, PCA produced a significant learning deficit in the low foot-shock groups, but not in the high foot-shock animals. These results indicate that the dose of PCA administered, which is known to deplete cerebral serotonin, does not interfere with acquisition and retention of enhanced active avoidance training.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurobiología Conductual y Cognitiva, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla Querétaro 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luisa E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Galindo
authors.forename: María Eugenia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Garín-Aguilar
authors.forename: Andrea C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Serafín
authors.forename: Gina L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Quirarte
authors.forename: Roberto A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Prado-Alcalá
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010133:p-Chloroamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; D012701:Serotonin; D010133:p-Chloroamphetamine