Source Paper
Cognitive neurobehavior and synaptic plasticity after vagus nerve stimulation in female rats: Interaction between estrous cycle and neurostimulation
Olsen LK, Jones KA, Sharma B, Ethridge VT, Gargas NM et al.
Bioelectron Med • 2026
Passive Avoidance Task (PAT)
behavioralRatSprague-Dawley
Objective: To measure associative aversion learning using passive avoidance behavior
Materials & Equipment Checklist
4 items
Protocol Steps
1
Habituation
Rats were habituated to the apparatus for five minutes
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“Rats were habituated to the apparatus for five min”
2
Training Day
Rats were placed into a well-lit box and allowed to move into a dark box of the same size
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“rats were placed into a well-lit box (25 cm × 21 cm × 17 cm) and allowed to move into a dark box of the same size”
3
Foot Shock Administration
If the rat crossed to the dark box, a one-time 0.75 mA foot shock was administered
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“If the rat chose to cross over to the dark box, a one-time 0.75 mA foot shock (FS) was administered”
4
Aversive Training
After foot shock, rat remained in dark box for additional 30 seconds to facilitate aversive training
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“followed by an additional 30 s in the dark box to facilitate aversive training by associating the dark box with the FS”
5
Testing Day (24h later)
After 24 hours, the rat was returned to the well-lit box and latency to enter dark box was measured
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“After 24 h the rat was returned to the well-lit box. Latency to enter the dark box from the well-lit box was measured”