Effects of Chlordiazepoxide upon Fear-Motivated Behavior in Dogs

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Abstract
Several doses of chlordiazepoxide (45, 100, 200 mg) were administered to dogs while they were subjected to a Sidman nondiscriminated avoidance schedule which contained seven conditioned stimuli-unavoidable shock (CS-US) pairings. The drug reliably reduced baseline response rate and significantly inhibited the amount of urinary cortisol excreted during the experimental sessions. Facilitation of heart, response, and activity rates normally noted during the aversive CS were unaffected by administration of the drug. In addition, over-all heart rate showed no consistent pattern of results in response to drug administration. These results suggest that under this schedule of reinforcement only the baseline response rate and urinary cortisol measures were sensitive to the antianxiety effects of chlordiazepoxide.