Chlordiazepoxide and resistance to punishment

Rats were given intermittent electric foot-shock during food-rewarded alley training. In the test phase, food and shock were given on every trial. These animals persisted in running down the alley in the test phase compared to those without prior shock experience. The effects of chlordiazepoxide (CDP) on this learned resistance to punishment were examined using a long and short interval between trials. It was found that CDP abolished the effect at a long inter-trial interval, but left it unaltered if the interval was short. The results match those found previously with an analogous effect using non-reward. It is suggested that the effects of punishment and non-reward may be mediated by a common process, and that the benzodiazepines may act on this process.