Normal shuttle box avoidance learning after chronic phenobarbital intoxication in mice

Mice consumed phenobarbital incorporated into liquid diets and maintained gross behavioral sedation and ataxia for 4 months. Three weeks after the discontinuation of phenobarbital in the diet, shuttle box avoidance learning was not impaired in comparison with controls pair-fed with a comparable phenobarbital-free diet or laboratory chow ad libitum. Non-specific sedation cannot explain the impairment of shuttle box avoidance learning by chronic ethanol consumption previously demonstrated under comparable conditions.