Summary
Sixteen rats of both sexes of a strain selectively bred for high performance levels in an aversive learning task, were examined for differences in rearing frequency and escape/avoidance performance under various doses of the drugs reserpine and prenylamine. At the highest dosages employed 4.0 mg/kg of reserpine and 40.0 mg/kg of prenylamine, activity and conditioned avoidance performance was depressed. These findings seem to suggest that the depletion of the catecholamine levels of the organism may be responsible for these effects and that disruption of aversive learning is due to the action of the drugs in depressing activity, rather than some more direct action on the learning process itself.
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Gregory, K. The action of the drug prenylamine (Segontin) on exploratory activity and aversive learning in a selected strain of rats. Psychopharmacologia 13, 22–28 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401615
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401615