Previous studies have shown that autoimmune mice perform very poorly on act
ive avoidance learning tasks. In the current studies, mice with lupus-like
systemic autoimmunity were able to learn active, as well as passive, avoida
nce protocols with shock as reinforcement. Therefore, the behavioral defici
ts seen in active avoidance tasks are not a consequence of the use of elect
ric shock. Rather, the current findings suggest that the inability of autoi
mmune mice to learn shock motivated responding is due to multiple performan
ce factors, including shock level and properties of the testing apparatus.
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