Cognition – Passive Avoidance
Passive avoidance test is used to assess memory function based on the association formed between an aversive stimulus such as a mild foot shock and a specific environmental context. Experiments are conducted in a two-compartment apparatus, where one compartment is dimly lit and preferable to a rodent, and the other compartment is brightly lit. During training the animal is placed into an aversive brightly-lit compartment, and upon the entry into the preferred dimly lit compartment is exposed to a mild foot shock. After a variable delay (minutes to days, depending on study design), the animal undergoes a retention test. In the retention test, the animal is returned to the brightly lit compartment again, and the latency to enter the shock-paired compartment is measured (retention or recall latency). The animal that learned the task would avoid the location previously paired with the aversive stimulus, and show greater latency to enter it. The basolateral amygdala, and other brain regions which have anatomical and functional connections with the amygdala, play a pivotal role in passive avoidance learning.
* Significantly different from the Saline group + Significantly different from the MK-801 + Gal group
