Active avoidance test

Description

In the active avoidance paradigm, subjects learn to avoid an aversive stimulus by initiating a specific locomotor response.

In this task, animals are placed in a two-compartment shuttle box and have to learn the association between a conditioned stimulus (CS, e.g. light) and an unconditioned stimulus (US, e.g. footshock).

- Conditioned response/Avoidance

Subjects give a conditioned response when they avoid receiving the shock, by moving to the opposite compartment during the CS presentation (avoidance response).

- Unconditioned response/Escape

If animals do not act, footshock is delivered, but can be escaped by moving to the opposite compartment (escape response).

This test is also used for assessing depressive-like symptoms in animals involved in a “learned helplessness procedure”. In this context, the use of a previous inescapable shock session has profound and long-lasting disruptive effects on the ability of the animals to learn to escape shocks. This escape deficit can be prevented by administering antidepressants.

SHUTTLE BOX (Panlab) + SHUTAVOID - (n) subjects

(n) x LE916/LE918 Shuttle box
(n) x LE10026 Shocker
(n) x LE26/LE26M Isolation box
1 x SHUTAVOID software

Recommended for running several active avoidance test in several animals at the same time and for using the same box for active and passive avoidance tests. More economical solution than to buy (n) Shuttle boxes with (n) LE2708 programmers. Of course, a computer is needed here.

The great advantages of using the SHUTAVOID software are:

- (1) the software allows easily creating, stocking and selecting a great variety of protocols for the active and passive avoidance procedures and,
- (2) the analysis section of the software provides total data for the experiment and detailed data for each trials of the experiments (response type, response latencies…).

SHUTTLE BOX + PACKWIN – customizable solution (Panlab)

Shutlle box
PACKWIN software

Only for specific request needing higher protocol configuration flexibility than standard solutions described above. This option allows (1) the control of the stimuli and shock independently from the animal position, (2) yoked procedures, (3) free data report edition. Ask for more details.

Whether the SHUTTLE boxes are also aimed to be used for passive avoidance test, other accessories are needed (guillotine doors, white panels…), see Passive avoidance test.

Internet information sources

Avoidance conditioning – Indiana University - link
Active avoidance - Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology (2010) - link
Active avoidance protocols example in mice – Johns Hopkins University – link

Reasons for choosing this test

Associative learning (operant conditioning), short- and long-term memory
Provides procedures for testing acquisition, consolidation and retention processes
Gives index of learning progression (evolution curves of performances)
Standard test for phenotyping
Does not require prior food deprivation
Sensitive for both rats and mice

Panlab | Harvard Apparatus