experimental neurosis
a pathological condition induced in a nonhuman animal during conditioning experiments requiring discriminations between nearly indistinguishable stimuli or involving punishment for necessary activities (e.g., eating). Experimental neurosis may be characterized by a range of behavioral abnormalities, including agitation, irritability, aggression, regressive behavior, escape and avoidance, and disturbances in physiological activity such as pulse, heart, and respiration rates. For example, in one experiment a dog learned to salivate in the presence of a circle, which had been paired with food, but not in the presence of an ellipse, which had not been paired with food. Faced with a difficult discrimination, the dog became agitated, barked violently, and attacked the apparatus, and all simple discriminations that had been learned were lost.