抄録
JARVIK and ESSMAN (4) described a simple one-trial learning apparatus for mice, and recently JARVIK and KOPP (2) developed an improved one-trial passive avoidance apparatus which had since been utilized in a number of studies (3, 5, 6). Some investigators, for example, have studied the effect of electroconvulsive shock (ECS) and some drugs on acquisition and performance of a learned response (1). That is, analeptic drugs such as pentylenetetrazol and strychnine are as effective as ECS in impairing consolidation. And it has been shown that anesthetics can also produce impairment of memory (1).
There has been no report, however, concerning the effect of stress and exhaustive exercise on passive avoidance learning in mice. In this paper, we modified the step-through apparatus (Fig. 1) and it was used to study the effect of exhaustive exercise on acquisition and performance of learned response.
Different groups of mice were exercised severely with oscillation before or after an one trial passive avoidance learning procedure. A short time of exercise accelerated the exploratory activity in mice. The exercise which had been done just before either learning or testing trial produced retrograde amnesia significantly. Exhaustive exercise which had been done just before learning trial produced slight retrograde amnesia.
