The effects of subcutaneous injections of vasopressin on the passive avoidance behavior of rats were investigated in an extensive study. 200 male Wistar rats were tested in a step-through passive avoidance task. The animals were assigned randomly to 1 of 20 experimental groups consisting of five vasopressin injection and four shock level conditions. Each animal was trained to enter a dark compartment, then subjected to 0.25, 0.10, 0.05 mA or no foot shock for 2 sec. 60 min prior to a retention test administered 24 h after the foot shock, each animal was given a single injection of 0.30, 0.12, 0.06, or 0.03 IU of vasopressin or of saline. Time to reenter the shock compartment was tested 24 and 48 h after the foot shock. Latencies in both retention tests indicated that, although there was a significant effect of shock level on latency scores, there was no effect of vasopressin with any dose level tested. The inability to find an effect of vasopressin in this study is contrary to results of other studies. Several factors, including general reactivity of the animals or the distribution system for vasopressin in the brain, might provide the underlying reason for these dramatic differences.