Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that naltrexone (NTX) enhances acquisition of aversive excitatory Pavlovian conditioning. Both the conditional opponent theory (Schull, 1979) and the perceived intensity hypothesis (Fanselow, 1981; Young & Fanselow, 1992) accurately predict this result. Nevertheless, these two models make different predictions about the effects of NTX on inhibitory conditioning. In the present experiment, these predictions were tested by investigating the effect of NTX on the acquisition and expression of inhibitory conditioning. NTX was injected during conditioned inhibitory (CI) training or testing. To avoid an effect of NTX on excitatory conditioning, excitatory and inhibitory trials were separated by 24 h. A control group was used to assess acquisition of CI. It was found that NTX did not disrupt acquisition or expression of CI. These results are inconsistent with the conditional opponent theory but are in accordance with the perceived intensity hypothesis.
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This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH39786 to M. S. F. J. Landeira-Fernandez was supported by a fellowship from Conselho National de Desenvolvimento Científico of the Ministry of Science, Brazil. The authors thank Kathy Chin for editorial assistance. J. J. Kim is now at the University of Southern California.
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Landeira-Fernandez, J., Fanselow, M.S., DeCola, J.P. et al. Naltrexone does not disrupt acquisition or performance of inhibitory conditioning. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 31, 591–594 (1993). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337364
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03337364