Magnesium pemoline: effect on avoidance conditioning in rats

Rats administered 20 milligrams of magnesium pemoline per kilo gram of body weight learned to avoid shock in a jump-out apparatus in fewer trials than did controls. However, the results suggested that the principal effect of the drug was to facilitate the avoidance behavior of those animals that tended to "freeze" in response to electric grid shock. No differences in retention were observed between experimental and control animals that had achieved equal levels of learnine.