Summary
d-Amphetamine sulfate (1 mg/kg) was studied for its effect on acquisition (learning) of a conditioned avoidance response. Acquisition consisted of a single session of 700 trials in a Skinner box. A light and a noise (CS—conditioned stimulus) were presented for 15 sec ending in a brief shock (UCS—unconditioned stimulus) thus completing one trial. Avoidance responses, incorrect responses (when the CS was off) and wrong lever responses were recorded in blocks of 50 trials. The increase in the somatic motor activity (SMA) after amphetamine in different animals was also measured.
Amphetamine significantly increased the rate and level of learning. The drug also caused an increase in incorrect and wrong lever responses. Increase in the wrong lever responses was concomitant with the increase in SMA. The increase in SMA and wrong lever responses subsided although the increase in avoidance responses was maintained.
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Kulkarni, A.S. Facilitation of instrumental avoidance learning by amphetamine: An analysis. Psychopharmacologia 13, 418–425 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404957
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404957