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Biomedical subjects

J Werboff

Publications and source records attributed to J Werboff.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Development of home orientation in offspring of protein-restricted cats.

The development of home orientation was evaluated in 2-14-day-old kittens nursing from mothers fed a protein-restricted or control diet during late gestation and lactation. Although restricted kittens remained in the home when placed in it, their ability to return to the home was delayed when they were removed from it. Restricted kittens also exhibited aberrant locomotor development and an increased frequency of loss of balance (upsets) en route to the home. During postnatal Week 1, vocalization frequency, an index of kitten disturbance when outside the home, was increased in restricted kittens tested in the home, and in adjacent and diagonal corners. Restricted kittens persisted in vocalizing more frequently than controls in home and adjacent corner tests during Week 2. Taken together, these data suggest that maternal protein restriction during late gestation and lactation disrupts the development of home orientation behavior by impairing locomotor function and increasing emotional responsiveness.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral correlates of focal hippocampal x-irradiation in rats II. Behavior related to adaptive function in a natural setting.

Prior investigations have shown the effects of hippocampal degranulation on behaviors such as two-way avoidance, open-field behavior, and operant schedules of reinforcement. Little, however, has been done with behaviors related to adaptive function in a natural setting; the present study has addressed this issue. Long-Evans hooded rats, subjected to focal neonatal X-irradiation of the hippocampus, were tested in passive avoidance and four dominance situations. The experimental animals, which had approximately a 70% reduction in the granule cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus, showed response perseveration in the passive avoidance task and were generally non-competitive in the dominance situations when compared to non-irradiated control animals. The single exception to this was noted in the test where an experimental rat and control animal were competing for a receptive female rat. Here the degranulated animals were strikingly superior to the control subjects with many more successful mounts. Some support for the response suppression model of hippocampal functioning was noted.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The effects of preparturient avoidance conditioning on postnatal caretaker behavior and offspring catecholamine levels and behavior in C57BL/6J mice.

Avoidance conditioning during pregnancy, changes in caretaker behavior during lactation, and changes in offspring catecholamine levels and behavior were investigated in C57BL/6J mice. Three equal groups of mice were employed. One group was avoidance conditioned prior to pregnancy and continued to avoid shock during pregnancy; a 2nd group was avoidance conditioned during pregnancy; and the 3rd group served as untreated controls. Offspring were crossfostered after birth. During lactation the proportion of time the caretaker spent on the nest was observed. At weaning pups were individually housed. Offspring dopamine concentrations were measured in the corpus striatum at birth and at days 22 and 42 of age. Their performance was evaluated in the open field at Day 42 of age. The results showed that mice receiving avoidance conditioning prior to parturition were more likely to cannibalize their offspring at parturition than were control animals. Furthermore, preparturiently avoidance conditioned mice spent less time on the nest if they reared offspring from biological mothers who had been avoidance conditioned when compared to similarly treated caretakers who reared offspring from untreated control biological mothers. Regardless of postnatal experiences, adult offspring from avoidance conditioned biological mothers had significantly reduced levels of dopamine in tissue from the corpus striatum and were significantly less active in the open field when compared with offspring from control biological mothers. Behavioral results support the findings of others that the prenatal environment plays an important role in shaping the later behavior of offspring. The decrease in dopamine levels suggests that avoidance training as one form of psychosocial stimulation during pregnancy can be disruptive to the development of the dopamine regulatory mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Activity analysis of operant behavior following methylphenidate administration.

13 male Long-Evans hooded rats were tested on a CRF-50 reinforcement schedule. Total response time as well as time and total activity responses away from the bar were significantly influenced by injections of methylphenidate (1.2 mg/kg I.P.). In general, the data supported previous findings of reduced response rate to the drug. However, methylphenidate (a CNS stimulant) increased activity that was not related to bar pressing. Analysis of activity response to drug should include total time and activity as well as operant rates.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Behavioral correlates of focal hippocampal x-irradiation in rats.

A study presenting findings of focal hippocampal x-irradiation in early infancy and late behavior at two ages was carried out using Long-Evans hooded rats (Rattus norvegicus). Animals from eleven litters received 150-R irradiation treatments for 5 or 15 consecutive days and were then tested in an open field situation and in a two-way active avoidance apparatus. The results indicated that the behavioral deficits paralleled those seen in animals with classical hippocampal lesions. The results were offered in support of a response suppression model for hippocampal functioning.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1967

Behavior development in the dog: an interspecific analysis.

Young dogs were maintained in isolation from other dogs and under varying degrees of exposure to an alien species (mature rabbits). Parametric observations indicate that an interspecific social attachment develops during the initial hours of co-habitation. The later social interaction patterns of the dogs were influenced, but not irrevocably fixed, by the early cross-specific rearing experience.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pain: anxiety and attitudes in Black, white and Puerto Rican patients.

Reactions of black, white and Puerto Rican patients were studied in an outpatient dental emergency clinic. Measures used included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, palmar sweat prints, an interview to obtain patient characteristics and attitudes toward pain, Dental Anxiety Scale and a posttreatment dentist rating. No differences between ethnic and racial groups were obtained in amount of pain, number or type of symptoms patients had. Significant Trait Anxiety differences were obtained. Puerto Ricans had the highest level of Trait Anxiety, whites the lowest, with blacks in the middle. The Dental Anxiety Scale also yielded differences with Puerto Ricans scoring highest, blacks lowest and whites in between. Attitude differences reflected a relative willingness to deny, get rid of or avoid dealing with the pain. The Puerto Ricans scored highest, whites lowest, with blacks in between. No physiological differences were obtained with palmar sweat prints.

Black or African American↗