DIFFERENT ANXIETY LEVELS IN RAT STRAINS S ELECTED FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVE-AVOIDANCE ABILITIES

Experiments were carried out in rat strains selected for high (KHA) an d low (KLA) rates of active avoidance conditioning in a shuttle box. T he elevated plus-maze was used for anxiety measurements. Naive KHA rat s, as compared with KLA ones, demonstrated much higher anxiety scores. Inescapable electric footshock had opposite effects on anxiety levels in KHA and KLA rats, i. e., it increased anxiety scores in KLA rats a nd decreased in KHA. The results point to the role of anxiety in adapt ive behaviour, e. g., in learning abilities.