https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.11563
Fear-motivated associative avoidance test based on presentation of an adverse stimulus (e.g., an electric current) as a source of discomfort, to create an environment from which the animal or subject would prefer to escape.
Note: In this test, a mouse or rat learns to associate the occurrence of an aversive event with the presentation of a specific stimulus, and to avoid the event by actively moving to a different location. The number of avoidances (moving to the other location during the stimulus signal), number of non-responses or errors (failing to move to the other location during the trial), and response latency (time between signal onset and response), are used as an index of learning.