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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
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Pavlovian Conditioned Approach Training in Rats
Published on: February 4, 2016
Pavlovian autoshaping procedures increase plasma corticosterone levels in rats
Arthur Tomie1, Yuval Silberman, Kayon Williams
1Department of Psychology and Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. tomie@rci.rutgers.edu
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|August 15, 2002
Summary
Pavlovian autoshaping training, where a cue predicts food, increases corticosterone levels in rats. This hormonal response is a conditioned response to the cue, not a result of performing the behavior.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Endocrinology
- Learning and memory
Background:
- Pavlovian autoshaping involves conditioned responses (CRs) to cues predicting rewards.
- Autoshaping is associated with elevated corticosterone, a stress hormone.
- The precise relationship between autoshaping, CR performance, and corticosterone is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between Pavlovian autoshaping procedures, conditioned response performance, and plasma corticosterone levels.
- To determine if corticosterone release is a conditioned response or a byproduct of behavior.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments using male Long-Evans rats.
- Experiment 1: 20 days of autoshaping training (CS-US paired vs. random control), followed by corticosterone measurement.
- Experiment 2: Basal corticosterone measurement, followed by acute autoshaping session and immediate corticosterone measurement.
Main Results:
- Rats in the CS-US paired group showed higher plasma corticosterone than controls after 20 training days (Experiment 1).
- Rats in the CS-US paired group exhibited elevated corticosterone after the first session, before CR performance (Experiment 2).
- No corticosterone elevation was observed in the CS-US random control group.
Conclusions:
- Corticosterone release during autoshaping is a physiological endocrine conditioned response.
- This response is induced by the predictive cue-food pairings, not the motor activity of the CR.
- Findings highlight the interplay between learning, conditioning, and endocrine stress responses.
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