Summary
The chronic administration of nortriptyline to rats on a Sidman avoidance schedule caused a general lowering of the avoidance response rate with an increase in the frequency of shock occurrence. During a 40-day period following 10 daily avoidance sessions with the drug, the response rates failed to return to pretreatment control levels. In spite of the lower response rates the number of shocks per session gradually decreased to normal levels over the post-treatment period. In a second experiment another group of rats was given nortriptyline daily for 10 days but was not exposed to the avoidance schedule during the treatment period. These animals showed no significant difference between pre- and post-treatment avoidance behavior. The persisting lower response rates are related to the behavior testing while the rats were depressed and not necessarily to the 10-day course of nortriptyline alone.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brodie, B. B., G. J. Cosmides, and D. P. Rall: Toxicology and the biomedical sciences. Science 148, 1547–1554 (1965).
Clark, F. C., and B. J. Steele: Some observations on the interaction of chlorpromazine and free operant avoidance bursts. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 4, 221–231 (1963).
Cook, L., and R. T. Kelleher: Drug effects on the behavior of animals. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 96, 315–335 (1962).
Davis, W. M., J. Capehart, and W. L. Llewellin: Mediated acquisition of a fear-motivated response and inhibitory effects of chlorpromazine. Psychopharmacologia 2, 268–276 (1961).
Dews, P. B.: Psychopharmacology. In: Experimental Foundations of Clinical Psychology, pp. 423–441, edited by A. J. Bachrach, New York: Basic Books 1962.
Dunnett, C. W.: New tables for multiple comparisons with a control. Biometrics 20, 482–491 (1964).
Hanson, H. M.: Effects of amitriptyline, imipramine, chlorpromazine and nialamide on avoidance behavior. Fed. Proc. 20, 396 (1961).
Heise, G. A., and E. Boff: Continuous avoidance baseline for measuring behavioral effects of drugs. Psychopharmacologia 3, 264–282 (1962).
Kornetsky, C.: A comparison of the effect of desipramine and imipramine on two schedules for reinforcement. Int. J. Neuropharmacol. 4, 13–16 (1965).
Maxwell, D. R., and H. T. Palmer: Demonstration of anti-depressant or stimulant properties of imipramine in experimental animals. Nature (Lond.) 191, 84–85 (1961).
Miller, R. E., J. V. Murphy, and I. A. Mirsky: Persistent effect of chlorpromazine on extinction of an avoidance response. Arch. Neurol. Psychiat. (Chic.) 78, 526–530 (1957).
Owen, J. E., Jr.: Psychopharmacological studies of some 1-(chlorophenyl)-2-aminopropanes II, Effect on avoidance and discrimination behavior. J. pharm. Sci. 52, 684–688 (1963).
Rathbun, R. C., and J. E. Owen Jr.: Behavioral studies of nortriptyline in pigeons and rats. To be published (1965),
Sidman, M.: Avoidance conditioning with brief shock and no exteroceptive warning signal. Science 118, 157–158 (1953).
—: Behavioral pharmacology. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 1, 1–19 (1959).
Verhave, T., J. E. Owen Jr., and E. B. Robbins: Effect of chlorpromazine and secobarbital on avoidance and escape behavior. Arch. int. Pharmacodyn. 116, 45–53 (1958).
Winkelman, N. W., Jr.: A survey of psychiatric opinion on ataractic drugs — and some remarks concerning the treatment of psychoneurotics with these compounds A pharmacologic approach to the study of the mind, pp. 206–215, edited by R. A. Featherstone and A. Simon, Springfield, Ill.: Ch. C. Thomas 1959.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Owen, J.E., Rathbun, R.C. Sustained changes of avoidance behavior after chronic nortriptyline administration. Psychopharmacologia 9, 137–145 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404718
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404718