[Effect of hippocampal injection of oxytocin on shuttle-box avoidance behavior of rats]

Bilateral dorsal hippocampal injection of oxytocin (Oxy, 50 pg, on each side) in rats impaired the acquisition of conditioned avoidance behavior and accelerated the extinction of conditioned avoidance behavior in shuttle-box. The data suggested that the effect of Oxy on shuttle-box conditioned avoidance behavior of rats was at least partly accomplished via the hippocampus; Oxy affected short-term memory as well as long-term memory.