Electric foot shock is a complex stressor with both physical and emotional components. It has been employed as an important tool to develop diverse animal models in the field of psychopharmacology. Animals generally do not habituate to foot shocks in comparison to other stressors, including loud noise, bright light, and hot and cold temperatures. Additionally, it offers an experimental advantage of control over intensity and duration; therefore, by varying its application parameters, different disorder models have been created.
Supertech has a wide range of variety of tools for experimenting with foot shock paradigms. AC Shocker is a handy tool in any laboratory which studies associational learning with stressors. Its internal circuitry is based on a constant current generator operating on the mains frequency. The current generator is simplified, but the safety level of this equipment is as good as of the DC Shocker. The current range at the output: 0.05 to 2 mA, which is enough for all acceptable shocking methods for mice and rats. 10-turn helical potentiometer helps to adjust the output current with a great resolution to optimize the level of the shocking current. Manual or computer-controlled with TTL H-level is activation.