Unique influences of ten drugs upon post-shock biting attack and pre-shock manual responding

Delivery of a fixed-time, response-independent electric tail shock to the squirrel monkey generated bites on a rubber hose immediately following shock and manual responses on a lever immediately preceding shock; two temporally and topographically different responses in a single organism in a single experimental session. d-Amphetamine, cocaine, and caffeine each had the effect of elevating both bite and lever press responses; nicotine, chlorpromazine, chlordiazepoxide, and diazepam each elevated lever press responding while depressing bite responding across a portion of the dosage range; phenobarbital, alcohol, and morphine had the effect of depressing both bite and lever press responses but lever pressing was selectively more depressed than biting. The results parallel previous research with these drugs on other measures of aggression and on other behavioral paradigms. The responses are contingency free so that the effect of a drug does not interact with response produced environmental consequences. The recording of two separate responses related to distinct emotional states from one organism in a single experimental session allows for the objective measurement of selective and differential drug effects.