Some properties of ECS-induced amnesia for a long-term habit

Abstract

Two experiments investigated the phenomenon of ECS-induced anmesia for a long-term habit acquired in a K maze for food reward. In Experiment I, rats acquired a position habit in the K maze, and half of the subjects were extinguished to handling and startbox cues for 7 days. On the 7th day, half of the extinction subjects and half of the subjects not given extinction were individually placed in the startbox of the K maze and given ECS. The remaining subjects were placed in the startbox and given sham ECS. Half of the subjects in each of the four resulting groups were tested at 24 h, and the remainder were tested at 96 h. The results of the 24-h test supported a previous finding that ECS subjects not given prior extinction to handling and startbox cues showed anmesia. However, this amnesia was transient, as indicated by memory recovery in subjects tested at 96 h. Experiment II failed to provide any evidence that ECS, when Preceded by footshock, induced amnesia for the K maze position habit under conditions of food reward. These results suggest that the nature of the stimulus preceding ECS is critical to the production of amnesia and that the nature of the anmesia effected under these conditions may result from a dissociation of learning. © 1975, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.