Relationship between emotionality, drug effects, and avoidance responses in Tryon S₁ and S₃ strains.

Abstract

Whether drugs will raise or lower performance under stress depends, in part, upon the emotionality of S [subject]. After demonstrating that the Tryon S1 strain was more emotional tnan the Tryon S3 (as measured in the open field) and that males of each strain were more emotional than their respective females, the avoidance behavior of these animals under placebo, or 20 or 40 mg./Kg. of amobarbital relates to the emotionality differences. Regardless of whether the comparison is between strains of sexes, at a moderate dosage level the high emotional groups emitted more CARs [conditioned avoidance response) than low emotionals and, in addition, at a relatively heavy dosage, the decrease in number of CARs was more apparent in the low emotional groups. Regardless of their source, these emotional differences tend to relate to differential drug effects in a reasonably consistent and predictable manner.