Abstract
Female rats show more response suppression in aversively motivated learning when the effect of presentation of an aversive stimulus upon subsequent responding is measured immediately, whereas males show more suppression in procedures in which the effect of an aversive stimulus is measured after longer intervals. To test whether this divergence can indeed be attributed to temporal parameters, step through passive avoidance was studied using various intervals between shock and retention trial. In contrast to the hypothesis, males showed more response suppression than females when tested directly after shock presentation. This sex difference was also observed at longer intervals. The highest levels of passive avoidance was observed at a 15 minute interval in all groups. Ovariectomy had no effect on the performance of females, but castration of males significantly decreased their performance. These findings demonstrate that the presence of testosterone in adulthood is critical for the masculine pattern of this behavior.
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