Flumazenil (Ro 15‐1788) enhances learning in both negatively and positively reinforced tasks

Abstract

AbstractFlumazenil (Ro 15‐1788) is classically described as a benzodiazepine‐receptor (BZ‐R) antagonist, devoid of any intrinsic effect and thus used to selectively block the effects of others BZ‐R ligands. The present report provides evidence that flumazenil enhances learning in a multiple‐trial brightness discrimination task in mice, whether the reinforcement is negative (electric foot‐shock) or positive (food reward). However, in contrast to the negative reinforcement, we obtained a significant effect with the positive reinforcement only after a delay of a few days. The type of reinforcement might be involved in this delay necessary to observe enhanced learning. These results are discussed.