TEMPORAL GRADIENT OF RECOVERY OF A CONDITIONED EMOTIONAL RESPONSE FOLLOWING A SINGLE ELECTROCONVULSIVE SHOCK

Rats which had been previously trained to drink in a test cage were given a footshock on 2 successive days in that cage to establish a CER. On the 3rd day, an ECS was given, and the amount drunk in the test cage was used as a measure of suppression of the CER. In tests administered 20 min, 45 min, 90 min, 4h, and 24 h after the ECS, the amount drunk was found to be a decreasing function of the ECS/test-time interval A final retest 24 h after the ECS indicated that all Ss had recovered the CER. The implications of these results are discussed for studies involving ECS-produced retrograde amnesia. © 1969, Psychonomic Journals, Inc.. All rights reserved.