Differential effects of US intensity and flooding on the acquisition and extinction of one way active avoidance responding in female rats with septal lesions

Female albino rats with septal lesions were much slower than controls in acquiring a one way active avoidance response that required them to jump up onto a shelf, when the US intensity was 1.0 mA. With a 0.2 mA US, impairment in acquisition was much less severe, although approximately 25% of the animals with lesions failed to escape this low intensity shock. Regardless of the US intensity used during training, septal lesions increased resistance to extinction. Flooding reduced avoidance responding during extinction in control animals, but not in subjects with septal lesions.