Long-term effects of yohimbine on behavioral sensitivity to a stressor

Two experiments examined the long-term effects of repeated administration of yohimbine, a suspected anxiogenic drug, on behavioral sensitivity to a conditioned cue for shock. In Experiment 1, rats were trained to bar press following injection of yohimbine (either 1 or 2 mg/kg) or saline. At the end of this training, injections were suspended and the rats were given Pavlovian fear conditioning to establish a light as a shock signal. Rats were then returned to the bar press situation (about 2 weeks after their last injection) and the capacity of the light to disrupt responding was tested. Rats previously treated with yohimbine were less disrupted by the light than were controls. In contrast, Experiment 2 found that previously experiencing the yohimbine-induced state only in the home cage increased subsequent disruption of bar pressing by the light. Yohimbine pretreatment had no effect on acquisition of freezing behavior to the light, nor on bar pressing during testing in the absence of the light, in either experiment. The results show that yohimbine can have long-term effects on behavior in the presence of a stressor, and that the nature of these effects are dependent upon environmental and/or behavioral context in which the yohimbine-induced state was experienced. These findings appear compatible with an internal stimulus view of stress and stress inoculation.