Drug Effects on Foot-Shock-Induced Agitation in Mice

Abstract

Foot-shock-induced fighting was first described for rats by O’Kelly and Steckle (1939) and later used for drug studies with mice by Tedeschi, Tedeschi, Mucha, Cook, Mattis, and Fellows (1959). Our interest in this procedure arose from the observation by Valzelli (1967) that foot-shock-induced fighting was more sensitive to drug effects and easier to carry out than other procedures used for this purpose (e.g., isolation or drug-induced fighting). Also, the procedure offered means for measuring drug effects on other distress components of behavior exhibited by animals in response to foot-shock stimulation (such as vocalization, running, and leaping).