Differential extinction of 2-way active avoidance in young and adult rats

Three experiments examined age-related differences in extinction of active avoidance in rats through manipulation of the stimulus context. In Experiment I, 36 weanlings and 36 adults acquired comparable avoidance levels to a tonal conditioned stimulus (CS), and novel stimuli consisting of either the presence of a naive rat or a light were presented during 2 tests in extinction. Results indicated more pronounced disruption of extinction in the pups, compared to adults, with the animate novel stimulus having the greater effect. Eighteen pups of 22 days of age and 18 adults in Experiment II were trained to avoid shock with a CS consisting of simultaneous tone and light onset. During extinction responses did not terminate 1 of the CS elements, but rather produced continuation of either the tone or light for an additional 5 sec. Continuation of the tonal element resulted in greater disruption of extinction trials than the light in the adults, although the pups had faster, but nondifferential, extinction rates. A 3rd experiment presented 36 pups and adults with either 0-, 5-, or 10-sec delays of tonal CS reactivation after extinction responses. Both 5- and 10-sec delays resulted in increased numbers of extinction trials in the adults, but the pups failed to respond differentially to any of the delay intervals. Results of all of the experiments were considered in light of species-specific behaviors in avoidance extinction relative to environmental and associative saliencies between ages.