Effects of posttrial vasopressin injections on appetitively motivated learning in rats

Sixty male rats, maintained on 23-hr food deprivation were trained on two types of appetitive tasks: bar pressure responding under a CRF schedule, and under a differentially reinforced (light+, dark-) schedule. Performance of rats treated with lysing vasopressin, injected immediately after each training session, was compared to that of control animals injected with saline. In the CRF stage, treated animals reached learning criterion significantly later than did control rats, and made significantly fewer bar presses. During acquisition and extinction of a light-dark discrimination, learning and retention were not altered by vasopressin, though the number of bar presses was significantly decreased, and a differential effect was found according to previous CRF performance. The results are discussed considering the hypothesis of a facilitatory effect of vasopressin on memory processes.