Aversive Stimulus Modality Comparison
Objective: To determine which aversive stimulus modalities (electric shock, heated floor, intense noise, cooled floor) elicit fighting responses between paired rats and to characterize the reflexive nature of this fighting behavior
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
Equipment1
Not specified • Not specified • Not specified • Not mentioned
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Protocol Steps
Pair rats in enclosed chamber
Place two rats together in an enclosed chamber with controlled floor area
Note: Chamber size affects fighting elicitation
View evidence from paper
“Elicitation of fighting was a direct function of the enclosed floor area and a nonmonotonic function of the shock intensity”
Apply electric shock stimulus
Deliver electric shock through electrified grid floor to paired rats
Note: Polarity of electrified grid must be scrambled for consistent fighting. Failure to scramble produced inconsistent fighting
View evidence from paper
“Failure to scramble the polarity of the electrified grid produced inconsistent fighting”
Apply heated floor stimulus
Deliver thermal aversive stimulus via heated floor to paired rats
Note: Heated floor elicited fighting between rats
View evidence from paper
“Electrode shock and a heated floor elicited fighting between the rats, but intense noise and a cooled floor did not”
Apply intense noise stimulus
Expose paired rats to intense noise as aversive stimulus
Note: Intense noise did NOT elicit fighting
View evidence from paper
“Electrode shock and a heated floor elicited fighting between the rats, but intense noise and a cooled floor did not”
Apply cooled floor stimulus
Deliver cold aversive stimulus via cooled floor to paired rats
Note: Cooled floor did NOT elicit fighting
View evidence from paper
“Electrode shock and a heated floor elicited fighting between the rats, but intense noise and a cooled floor did not”
Observe and record fighting behavior
Monitor paired rats for fighting responses during aversive stimulus presentation
Note: Fighting is fairly stereotyped and easily differentiated from rats' usual behavior
View evidence from paper
“Reflexive fighting was elicited between paired rats as a reflex reaction to electric shock prior to any specific conditioning. Such fighting was fairly stereotyped and easily differentiated from the rats' usual behavior”
Repeat shock presentations
Present repeated electric shock stimuli to assess habituation
Note: Repeated shock presentations did not produce appreciable decrease in fighting until signs of physical debility appeared
View evidence from paper
“Repeated shock presentations did not produce an appreciable decrease in fighting until signs of physical debility appeared”