Peculiarities of active avoidance conditioning were studied in NISAG rats (hereditary stress-induced arterial hypertension) and spontaneously hypertensive SHR rats. Conditioning was successful in 90% normotensive Wistar rats and in only 9.1% NISAG rats. Hypertensive SHR rats were intermediate between Wistar and NISAG rats by their learning capacity (66.7%). Our results suggest that differences in learning capacity of hypertensive rats are determined by genetic characteristics of animal behavior and emotional state, rather than blood pressure elevation.