The effects of pimozide during pairing on the transfer of classical conditioning to an operant discrimination

Abstract

Transfer of classical conditioning to operant learning was demonstrated by showing enhanced acquisition of an operant discrimination in a group of rats (n = 6) previously exposed to pairings of the discriminative stimulus with food as compared to control animals (n = 6). A group (n = 6) that received the classical conditioning sessions while under the influence of the neuroleptic, pimozide (1.0 mg/kg, IP) also showed enhanced acquisition of the discrimination when tested while undrugged but their performance was intermediate between that of the other groups for the first seven sessions. For the remaining sessions, the two groups that had received classical conditioning did not differ from each other and both groups discriminated better than the controls. These data may indicate a role for dopaminergic neurons in the mechanism by which the effects of classical conditioning influence operant responding.