Abstract
The Kamin effect, the U-shaped curve of retention of a partially learned shuttle avoidance response, was replicated in animals trained and tested for retention after delays of 0, 1, 4, ov 24 h. Other animals treated with scopolamine hydrobromide, a cholinergic blocker, during the 1-h delay between learning and relearning showed no performance decrement. However, animals treated with methylscopoiamine, which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, during the 1-h delay did show the typical Kamin effect decrement in performance. The results were interpreted as supporting a central cholinergic basis for the Kamin effect.
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This research was supported by a grant from the Bureau of Faculty Research, Western Washington State College. Portions of this paper were presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1970. The authors wish to thank Henry Waibel and John Dempster for their help in collecting data and Mr. Marvin Guthaus and the Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, Mich., for supplying the methylscopolamine.
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Thompson, R.W., Nielsen, C. The effect of scopolamine on the Kamin effect: A test of the parasympathetic overreaction hypothesis. Psychon Sci 28, 140–142 (1972). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328687
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03328687