Effects of time of day and food deprivation on exploratory activity in the rat.
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Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
S E File
Publications and source records attributed to S E File.
Specificity and savings of behavioural habituation over a series of intra- and inter-modal stimuli.
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Acoustic Stimulation↗
Contrasting behavioural effects of 8-OH DPAT in the dorsal raphé nucleus and ventral hippocampus.
Administration of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist (+-)-8-Hydroxy-dipropylaminotetralin (8-OH DPAT, 50 ng) into the dorsal raphé nucleus (DRN) increased social interaction but did not change the motor activity of rats tested in high light, thus indicating an anxiolytic response. This effect was blocked by coadministration of the 5-HT1A antagonist, tertatolol (3 micrograms). In contrast, 8-OH DPAT (50 and 100 ng) was without effect on social interaction when administered to the DRN projection area in the ventral hippocampus, but did change locomotor activity. The effects depended on the light level and dose: thus when the rats were tested in low light, 50 ng increased locomotor activity, but in high light a decrease was found with 100 ng and also an induction of wet dog-shakes. Thus, our results support the importance of the somatodendritic autoreceptors in the DRN in alleviating anxiety, whereas the post-synaptic receptors in the ventral hippocampus play no role. They do, however, mediate changes in activity and the 5-HT syndrome.
8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin↗
Effects of parachlorophenylalanine and amphetamine on habituation of orienting.
Parachlorophenylalanine significantly reduced the orienting response to the first presentation of a tone but did not alter the size of responses to subsequent tone presentations nor the rate of habituation. In contrast amphetamine did not alter the orienting response but significantly impaired habituation. It was concluded that there was little evidence for a serotonergic involvement in behavioral habituation, although a role for the catecholamine system could not be excluded.
Amphetamine↗
Behavioral consequences in animal tests of anxiety and exploration of exposure to cat odor.
Rats exposed to a cloth impregnated with cat odor showed a decreased number of contacts with the cloth and time in contact with it and increased time sheltering from it. Exposure to the odor of rat blood produced similar, though less marked, changes and also increased the number of occasions the rat sought shelter. Exposure to the odor of disinfectant changed only the time in contact with the cloth. Exposure to cat odor also resulted in anxiogenic responses in the social interaction and elevated plus-maze tests that could be detected up to 1 h, but not 24 h, after odor exposure. Decreased exploration in the holeboard could also be detected up to 1 h, but not 24 h, after exposure to cat odor. The time in contact with the cloth, the incidence of, and time spent sheltering did not decrease over five successive exposures to the odor of a cat. The number of contacts with the control odor cloth increased over successive exposures, but contacts with the cat odor cloth did not change over successive exposures. The decreased exploration in the holeboard, as a result of prior exposure to cat odor, showed rapid habituation, as did the anxiogenic response detected in the social interaction test, whereas that detected in the plus-maze persisted for up to five odor exposures.
Animals↗
Chronic ethanol and chlordiazepoxide: contrasting effects on reward learning.
Rats were exposed for one week to increasing concentrations of ethanol in a liquid diet, and were then maintained for a further 4 weeks on a 10% ethanol diet. Ten weeks after return to normal diet they were trained in a learning task in which three out of nine holes were consistently rewarded. The ex-ethanol-treated rats were slower to complete the task during the first week, compared with their control group and the differences were most marked on days 3 and 4, which were the days of most rapid improvement. On day 4 the ex-ethanol-treated rats made significantly more errors at rewarded holes. In contrast, rats that had been treated for 4 weeks with chlordiazepoxide (10 mg/kg/day) and then trained 10 weeks later on days 2 and 3 made significantly fewer errors of reference memory, and on day 2 made significantly fewer errors of working memory, compared with their control group.
Alcoholism↗
Diazepam and caffeine administration during the first week of life: changes in neonatal and adolescent behavior.
The male offspring of hooded Lister rats were fostered at birth into 23 experimental litters. One pup in each litter was allocated to each of the following treatment groups: vehicle control; caffeine (15 or 30 mg/kg); diazepam (10 mg/kg, alone or plus caffeine 15 or 30 mg/kg). Pups were given daily injections on neonatal days 1-7 and were observed for 15 min following each injection. Diazepam significantly increased paddling and forward walking, particularly on days 5 and 7; caffeine also increased these behaviors, but less markedly. Diazepam increased the incidence of clonic jerks, particularly on day 7 and increased the spontaneous loss of righting reflex. The pups were then left undisturbed until weaning at day 21 and testing from days 35-42. There were no lasting effects of the neonatal treatments in two tests of anxiety, or in passive avoidance performance. Rats that had been treated neonatally with diazepam had significantly lower motor activity scores and reared less in the holeboard than did controls, and neonatal treatment with caffeine also resulted in lower motor activity scores. Neonatal treatment with caffeine made rats more aggressive (increased kicking and pushing) when they were intruding into another rat's territory. Neonatal treatment with diazepam increased aggression in resident rats, and this was counteracted by neonatal treatment with caffeine. Neonatal caffeine treatment enhanced rats' unconditioned preference for the black chamber in a black-white preference test and neonatal diazepam treatment reduced it.
Aggression↗
Gincosan (a combination of Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng): the effects on mood and cognition of 6 and 12 weeks' treatment in post-menopausal women.
As memory and concentration impairments are a frequent complaint in post-menopausal women, this well-defined population was selected to investigate the effect on mood and cognition of chronic treatment with Gincosan. In a double-blind placebo controlled study, post-menopausal women aged 51-66 were randomly assigned to 12 weeks' treatment with Gincosan (320mg/day), containing 120mg Ginkgo biloba, and 200mg Panax ginseng (n = 30), or matched placebo (n = 27). They were given measurements of mood, somatic anxiety, sleepiness, and menopausal symptoms and a battery of cognitive tests before treatment and after 6 and 12 weeks of treatment. There were no significant effects of Gincosan treatment on ratings of mood, bodily symptoms of somatic anxiety, menopausal symptoms, or sleepiness or on any of the cognitive measures of attention, memory or frontal lobe function. Thus, after chronic administration, Gincosan appeared to have no beneficial effects in post-menopausal women.
Affect↗
Effects of neonatal administration of diazepam and lorazepam on performance of adolescent rats in tests of anxiety, aggression, learning and convulsions.
Male offspring of hooded Lister rats were fostered at birth and allocated to experimental litters of eight, in which at least one rat was allocated to every treatment group. Vehicle control, diazepam (1 or 10 mg/kg) or lorazepam (0.25 or 2.5 mg/kg) were administered daily from postnatal day 1-21. Rats were tested undrugged at adolescence (days 35-41). Neonatal treatment with diazepam (10 mg/kg) or lorazepam (2.5 mg/kg) tended to increase active social interaction, perhaps indicative of an anxiolytic effect. These treatments also increased unpunished licking, but were without effect on punished drinking. When the experimental rats were resident in their home-cages the effect of neonatal treatment with diazepam (1 mg/kg) was to increase the number of offensive behaviors directed at an untreated intruder. In contrast, neonatal treatment with lorazepam (2.5 mg/kg) increased the frequency and duration of submissions to the intruder. When the rats that had been treated neonatally were intruding into the territory of an untreated resident rat, diazepam treatment (10 mg/kg) increased wrestling, whereas lorazepam (0.25 mg/kg) decreased sniffing and kicking the resident. The neonatal treatments did not affect acquisition or short-term retention of a passive avoidance response, but the re-entry latencies indicated poorer long-term retention by diazepam-treated rats. The neonatal treatments did not change the threshold for convulsions to pentylenetetrazole.
Aggression↗
Behavioral changes persisting into adulthood after neonatal benzodiazepine administration in the rat.
The day after birth male pups of hooded Lister rats were randomly fostered to form experimental litters of eight. Within each litter pups were randomly assigned among the following groups: vehicle control; diazepam (1, 5 or 10 mg/kg); lorazepam (0.25, 0.5, 1 or 2.5 mg/kg). Injections were given daily from day 1 until weaning at day 21. The pups were then tested as adults, from day 65. There were no effects of neonatal treatment when the pups were tested undrugged in 3 animal tests of anxiety, but in the social interaction test the neonatal diazepam treatment significantly reduced the anxiogenic effects of yohimbine. The neonatal diazepam treatment significantly enhanced the sedative effects of a challenge dose of chlordiazepoxide in the holeboard. Passive avoidance acquisition and retention were unaffected by the early treatment. Neonatal treatment with both benzodiazepines reduced the incidence of myoclonic jerks when the pups were challenged with pentylenetetrazole. Both neonatal treatments enhanced aggressive acts displayed when the residents were confronted with an intruder in their home-cages. However, when the rats that had been treated neonatally with lorazepam were themselves intruding into another's territory, they were significantly more submissive.
Aggression↗
The effects of neonatal administration of clonazepam on passive avoidance and on social, aggressive and exploratory behavior of adolescent male rats.
Male offspring of hooded Lister rats were fostered at birth to form experimental litters of eight. Within each litter pups were randomly allocated among drug groups. Administration of clonazepam (1-5 mg/kg/day) to pups from neonatal days 1-21 resulted in high mortality, at least partly due to impaired ultrasonic calling. Pups treated with 0.1, 0.5 or 1 mg/kg/day throughout the preweaning period were then tested undrugged during adolescence to assess any lasting behavioral changes. There were no significant changes in the social interaction test or in the acquisition or retention of a passive avoidance task. However, neonatal treatment with clonazepam (0.1 mg/kg) did produce significantly less exploratory head-dipping and locomotor activity in a holeboard. This dose also enhanced offensive behaviors when rats were resident in their home-cages and confronted with an intruder, but increased submissive behaviors when the treated rats were intruding into another rat's territory. Treatment with higher doses of clonazepam (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) produced more dominance behaviors when the pups were intruders. Since the main behavioral changes were found in the lowest dose group, which did not show any weight loss, they are unlikely to be secondary to changes in the risk of mortality.
Aggression↗
Lorazepam treatment in the neonatal rat alters submissive behavior in adulthood.
Male hooded Lister rats were cross-fostered at birth (day 0) and reared in litters of eight. Within each litter, one pup was treated with each dose of lorazepam (0.25 or 1.25 mg/kg) and one was treated with the placebo vehicle. The pups received daily subcutaneous injections between postnatal days 7 and 21 inclusive. Starting on day 70 the animals were subjected to four tests of exploratory and social behavior: Open Field, Holeboard, Social Interaction and Home-Cage Aggression. The drug-treated animals showed an increase in submissive behavior, particularly when intruding into another animal's territory, but only minimal changes in their performance in the other three tests.
Aggression↗
The validation of animal tests of anxiety--pharmacological implications.
The behavioral, physiological and pharmacological validation of the social interaction test of anxiety is described. The effects of benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics, other classes of drugs and of anxiogenic drugs are discussed.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
Neonatal clomipramine treatment in the rat does not affect social, sexual and exploratory behaviors in adulthood.
The potential ability of the tricyclic anti-depressant clomipramine to cause an increase in anxiety in adult animals following neonatal treatment with the drug has been investigated; no such anxiogenic actions were found in the social interaction test. Furthermore, the behavior of animals that had received the drug as pups did not differ from that of the controls in open field or holeboard tests, nor in tests of sexual behavior, aggressive and dominance behaviors or passive avoidance learning.
Aggression↗