1. Effects of Chlordiazepoxide upon Fear-Motivated Behavior in Dogs
- Author
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Benjamin Rothfeld, Alexander Varady, and Vincent P. Houser
- Subjects
Schedule ,Reinforcement Schedule ,Hydrocortisone ,Urination ,050109 social psychology ,Motor Activity ,Chlordiazepoxide ,Dogs ,Heart Rate ,Avoidance Learning ,Reaction Time ,medicine ,Animals ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology ,General Psychology ,Behavior, Animal ,Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ,05 social sciences ,Fear ,Anesthesia ,Conditioning, Operant ,Female ,Psychology ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Several doses of chlordiazepoxide (45, 100, 200 mg) were administered to dogs while they were subjected to a Sidman nondiscriminated avoidance schedule which contained seven conditioned stimuli-unavoidable shock (CS-US) pairings. The drug reliably reduced baseline response rate and significantly inhibited the amount of urinary cortisol excreted during the experimental sessions. Facilitation of heart, response, and activity rates normally noted during the aversive CS were unaffected by administration of the drug. In addition, over-all heart rate showed no consistent pattern of results in response to drug administration. These results suggest that under this schedule of reinforcement only the baseline response rate and urinary cortisol measures were sensitive to the antianxiety effects of chlordiazepoxide.
- Published
- 1975
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