Arc suppression in shock circuits.
Solder a neon lamp across shock-grid terminals to kill arcs and extend equipment life.
01Research in Context
What this study did
J (1960) wrote a one-page shop note for rat labs.
The paper shows how to stop sparks when a shock circuit turns off.
It adds a tiny neon lamp across the output wires. No data, just a wiring sketch.
What they found
The lamp eats the spark.
Circuits last longer and timing stays clean.
How this fits with other research
THOMPSOELLIOTT et al. (1962) gave another cheap fix: a simpler timer board for the same era.
Both notes save money and keep old shock grids running.
Escobar et al. (2015) leap to today: an Arduino interface that also cuts cost.
One uses 1960 analog parts, the other 2015 code, but the goal is the same—build reliable gear without buying commercial boxes.
Hamm et al. (1978), Rosenthal et al. (1980), Schmidt et al. (1969), and Malagodi et al. (1975) all ran avoidance studies that depend on steady shock delivery.
Their behavioral data are strong, yet none mention arc wear.
Slipping in J’s neon shunt could make their circuits quieter and longer-lived.
Why it matters
If you run shock-based animal labs, a ten-cent neon bulb can protect expensive grids and keep timing sharp.
No ethics drift, no new software—just solder and go.
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Join Free →Open your shock box, add a neon-lamp shunt across the output, test voltage, and log any drop in spark noise.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
To pass adequate currents through subjects of low conductivity (high resistance) or to compensate for large current-stabilizing resistances placed in series with the subject, high potentials are often used in shock-stimulating circuits. This may result in arcing across air gaps between subject and grid, across open switches or relay contacts, or along the surfaces of insulating materials. A simple and effective way to limit this arcing is to place a shunt circuit consisting of a series of neon lamps across the output terminals of the shock stimulator. This shunt then serves as an electronic switch that instantly "shorts out" the shock current whenever the circuit through the subject is broken-i.e., at the moment when arcing would otherwise occur.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1960 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1960.3-15