Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Gastrointestinal Motility Monitor (GIMM)
Published on: December 2, 2010
Active avoidance behavior in guinea pigs: effects of physostigmine and scopolamine
I H Philippens1, B P Melchers, O L Wolthuis
1TNO Medical and Biological Lab, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Behavioral training of guinea pigs by conventional methods, such as used for rats and mice, appears difficult. Hence, only a few behavioral experiments with guinea pigs have been described in the literature. An active avoidance technique in an automated two-way shuttlebox is described using sound as a conditioned (CS) and a tactile stimulus (a stream of air ruffling their fur) as an unconditioned (UCS) stimulus. Acquisition is fairly rapid and reproducible. Doses of physostigmine that caused moderate blood acetylcholinesterase inhibition induced dose-dependent performance decrements. These decrements were counteracted by a sign-free dose of scopolamine.
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