The acquisition of self-stimulation of the medical prefrontal cortex following exposure to escapable or inescapable footshock.

The effect of acute stress on the acquisition of an instrumental action reinforced by electrical stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPC) was investigated by exposing rats to either escapable, inescapable or no footshock prior to daily self-stimulation training sessions. Treatment with inescapable footshock did not affect the number of sessions required for acquisition of MPC self-stimulation but did increase the rate of responding over acquisition sessions compared with the no-shock group. When the treatment footshock was escapable, however, both a facilitation in acquisition, as indexed by a reduction in the number of sessions to criterion, and an increase in the rate of MPC self-stimulation was found. These data were interpreted as offering evidence for the operation of a dopaminergic mechanism in the acquisition of MPC self-stimulation. Further, they indicate, contrary to the reported effects of footshock on self-stimulation of other brain areas, that exposure to acute stress has a facilitatory effect on the rate of self stimulation of the MPC.