Title: Effect of septal lesions, required response, and shock on the acquisition of a two-way conditioned avoidance response in rats
Abstract: Normal albino rats and rats with septal lesions were trained to a criterion of 9/10 avoidance responses in a two-way conditioned avoidance response (CAR) task. The animals were required to run through a doorway or climb over a hurdle, and were motivated by continuous shock or intermittent shock. The subjects showed facilitated acquisition of the CAR if they sustained a septal lesion and/or were trained in the hurdle condition. The type of shock had no effect on learning. Lesioned subjects made more intertrial responses than normals. It is suggested that rats with septal lesions learn faster because they are more fearful, and that response requirement is an important variable in shuttlebox avoidance conditioning.