[Correlation between rate of avoidance reaction elaboration and catecholamine levels in rat brain].

The dependence of parameters of elaboration of avoidance reaction in a shuttle box on the level of noradrenaline (NA) and dopamine (DA) in the brain was studied in 39 male rats of Wistar line with body weight of 200--250 g. The animals that on the first day of learning had different number of errors also showed different levels of brain NA and DA. A great number of errors correlated with a low level of DA in the whole brain and a high level of NA in cortical-striate brain area. It was shown that the errors characterized the process of learning itself and were not due to motor activation.