Vulnerability factors in anxiety: Strain and sex differences in the use of signals associated with non-threat during the acquisition and extinction of active-avoidance behavior

► Behaviorally inhibited (WKY) and female rats learn avoidance quicker. ► Examined if rats use non-threat signals differently in acquisition or extinction. ► Male WKY rats require non-threat signals to acquire avoidance quicker. ► WKY rats extinguish slower regardless of non-threat signals. ► Non-threat cues may be encoded by females as occasion setters.