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The effects of chlordiazepoxide and chlorpromazine on a punishment discrimination

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Summary

A punishment discrimination was conditioned in laboratory rats by simultaneously rewarding with food and punishing with shock all lever responses made in the presence of a discriminative stimulus (tone). Appropriate setting of the shock intensity resulted in either high or low but stable output of responses during the tone periods. Rats working on a high-shock control baseline were administered CDAP at 7.5, 15.0, and 30 mg/kg. These rats worked during the tone periods and tolerated more shocks in order to obtain food rewards. Rats working on a lowshock control baseline were administered CPZ at 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mg/kg. These rats accepted less shocks during the tone periods. The decrease in shocks taken bears a direct relationship to the increase in dose of the drug. Some preliminary data for a monkey show the reproducibility of the behavior as well as the CDAP effects in another species.

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Geller, I., Kulak, J.T. & Seifter, J. The effects of chlordiazepoxide and chlorpromazine on a punishment discrimination. Psychopharmacologia 3, 374–385 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00408322

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00408322

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