[Delayed reactions of active avoidance in white rats under conditions of an alternative choice]

It was shown that if the rats had been learned and then tested using conventional pain punishment of erroneous choice they were able to solve the problem of alternative choice only in the period of immediate action of conditioned stimuli. If the pain punishment for erroneously chosen compartment had not been applied in animal learning and testing, rats successfully solved the problem of alternative choice even after 5-second delay. Introduction of pain punishment led to the frustration of earlier elaborated delayed avoidance reactions. Analysis of the obtained results allows us to argue that the apparent incapability of white rats for solving the problems of delayed avoidance is caused by simultaneous action of two different mechanisms, i.e., those of the active and passive avoidance rather than short-term memory deficit.