The effects of diazepam on "fear" reactions in rats are modulated by environmental constraints on the rat's defensive repertoire.
The simultaneous effects of diazepam on three shock-induced reactions in rats were studied in order to determine the reliability of these behaviors as indices of anxiolytic drug action. Rats were injected with 1 mg/kg of diazepam or vehicle, placed in a 2-compartment chamber containing bedding material, and shocked with 1, 2, or 6 mA when they first touched a wire-wrapped prod attached to one end of the chamber. Diazepam-treated animals displayed significantly less burying behavior, but paradoxically, they also displayed more passive avoidance behavior and fewer exploratory side-transitions than vehicle-injected controls. Defensive burying behavior tended to be negatively correlated with passive avoidance behavior and positively correlated with exploratory side transitions. When the "competitive" relationship between defensive burying and passive avoidance was eliminated by testing rats in a 2-compartment chamber not containing bedding material, diazepam produced a significant suppression of passive avoidance and a significant increase in exploratory side-transitions, compared to control. Taken together, these results suggested that the validity of any single behavioral model of anxiolytic drug action might vary as a function of environmental constraints on the subjects' defensive repertoire.