Facilitation of avoidance behavior by chlordiazepoxide and chlordiazepoxide-amphetamine combination: effect on performance

Abstract

Chlordiazepoxide, 5 mg/kg, given at various stages of training invariably facilitated the shuttle box avoidance of CD-1 mice for a short period of time (100 trials); no after-effects were observed on the following daily session. Amphetamine, 1 mg/kg, usually did not facilitate significantly the responding, but its combination with chlordiazepoxide produced a stronger and more pronounced effect than that of chlordiazepoxide alone. In prolonged (600-trial) sessions the performance of mice declined in the second half of the session; this decline was temporarily reversed by chlordiazepoxide given alone or with amphetamine after the first 300 trials. The results indicate that the facilitation of shuttle-box avoidance behavior by chlordiazepoxide or chlordiazepoxide-amphetamine combination is due to the improvement of performance.