A Pharmacological Evaluation of a Genetically Predisposed Conditioned Avoidance Response 1

Summary

In Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi, a genetically predisposed terrestrial CAR was found to be more readily acquired, more resistant to extinction, and less susceptible to alteration by drugs than was a relatively foreign arboreal CAR. Subtoxic doses of CPZ and CDP were more selective in suppressing arboreal rather than terrestrial behavior, whereas similar equitoxic doses of MPB and PTB did not significantly depress either behavior. These results demonstrate that responses based upon behaviors included in the subject's natural repertoire are more stable and less readily altered by drugs than are responses relatively foreign to the subject's genetic predispostion.