Conflict procedure

The conflict procedure is an experiment often used in scientific research to quantify anxiety levels by measuring changes in punished/unpunished responses. It is often used to screen drugs for their potential to inhibit anxiety (anxiolytic potential).

Study

Some researchers from France have conducted an experiment on "Effects of Chronic Antidepressants in an Operant Conflict Procedure of Anxiety in the rat (1998)", "the aim of their study was to reveal possible anxiolytic like effects of antidepressants during ongoing treatment. Rats were subjected to a conflict procedure during which lever pressing for food was suppressed by a conditioned signal for punishment and contingent electric foot shocks."[1] In the preparatory phase of the experiment, researchers increased anxiety using electrical shocks on rats gradually over a several week long training process. They then administered the chosen drug and observed how it altered the responses of the rats.[1]

Other studies have used conflict procedures to test a variety of drugs, and some have reported that depressants cause an increase in punished responses, while anxiolytic drugs decrease the level of punished responding.[2][3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Beaufour, C. C., Ballon, N., Le Bihan, C., Hamon, M., & Thiébot, M. (1999). Effects of chronic antidepressants in an operant conflict procedure of anxiety in the rat. Pharmacology, Biochemistry And Behavior, 62(4), 591-599. doi:10.1016/S0091-3057(98)00180-4
  2. ↑ Vogel, John R.; Beer, Bernard; Clody, Donald E. (1971). "A simple and reliable conflict procedure for testing anti-anxiety agents". Psychopharmacologia. 21 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1007/BF00403989. ISSN 0033-3158. PMID 5105868. S2CID 37574100.
  3. ↑ Evenden, John; Ross, Laurie; Jonak, Gerald; Zhou, Jin (2009). "A novel operant conflict procedure using incrementing shock intensities to assess the anxiolytic and anxiogenic effects of drugs". Behavioural Pharmacology. 20 (3): 226–236. doi:10.1097/fbp.0b013e32832a8110. ISSN 1473-5849. PMID 19455771. S2CID 23665921.
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