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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Environmental contaminants and behavior disorders.

The discipline of behavioral toxicology is an acknowledgement that behavioral assessments should play a role in judging the safety of chemicals. Such a role is emphasized by the toxicological history of many different classes of substances. These include metals, insecticides, volatile organic solvents, and even food additives. For all of these, incipient toxicity often takes the form of subjective complaints that are later followed by overt impairments. The fetus and young child seem to be at special risk for substances such as methylmercury and synthetic food colors, a susceptibility not fully recognized.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Influence of environmental, structural, and behavioral factors on the presence of phosphine in worker areas during fumigations in grain elevators.

Data-logging gas monitors with electrochemical cells sensitive to phosphine (PH3) were used to characterize concentrations of this common grain fumigant in and around grain elevators during fumigations. Twenty-four grain fumigations were observed, and each was monitored over a 5- to 8-day period. Phosphine gas, generated from aluminum phosphide fumigant applied to the grain, generally moved upward toward the grain surface and exited the bin at bin-top openings to the outside air or to enclosed worker areas. The upward air currents appeared to be the result of chimney effects, e.g., pressure differences resulting from buoyant air inside the warm grain and cooler, denser, ambient air. Significant wind effects on the PH3 concentration were also observed in the air between the grain surface and the bin roof. In enclosed areas located at the bin-top level, monitors located near the fill port or the fumigant dispenser recorded PH3 concentrations in excess of the exposure limit of 0.3 parts per million (ppm) about 35% of the time during grain fumigations. Phosphine concentrations between 0.31 and 1.0 ppm were observed 17.3% of the time, and concentrations in the ranges of 1.01-3.0, 3.01-10.0, and >10 ppm constituted 11.8%, 5.5%, and 0.3% of all readings, respectively, in bin-top worker areas. The likelihood of recording PH3 concentrations >0.3 ppm depended on ventilation practices. Fans in tunnels and open windows at aboveground locations appeared to greatly reduce the likelihood of high PH3 concentrations in enclosed areas.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2006

Interpersonal violence in prehistoric San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: behavioral implications of environmental stress.

The prehistoric population of San Pedro de Atacama lived through periods marked by prosperity and interregional interaction, as well as times of severe drought, social stress, and widespread poverty. A sample of 682 crania was analyzed for evidence of cranial trauma in order to assess changing patterns of interpersonal violence during the occupation of the oasis. It was hypothesized that the level of traumatic injuries in this population would parallel some of the changes seen in the archaeological record. Low fracture rates would be expected in periods of affluence and environmental stability, while periods characterized by environmental extremes and state collapse would yield elevated rates of aggression. This analysis found that rates of trauma escalated from 5.1% (5/99) in the earliest period, to 10.9% (10/92) in the Middle Horizon (AD 600-950). Although it may reflect problems related to increasing population density in the oasis, this increase is surprising, given that the early period witnessed the shift to permanent settlements, and the middle period was one of prosperity and plentiful resource availability. Trauma rates peaked at 35.6% (16/45) in an early Late Intermediate period (AD 950-1400) cemetery, with other Late Intermediate cemeteries demonstrating similarly high rates of traumatic injury. The elevated trauma rates during this period correlate with major droughts, the concentration of settlements on the oasis' east side, fortified structures, and material poverty, all reflected in the archaeological record. As the Late Intermediate waned and environmental conditions improved, trauma concomitantly decreased (7.0%), and remained low throughout the Inka occupation (AD 1400-1532). This indicates that while the Atacama was not peaceful, violence became commonplace only during periods of great social change and resource stress.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Environmental modulation of behavioral tolerance in spinal rats.

We previously reported that the antinociceptive effect of morphine on the thermal tail withdrawal reflex (tail flick, TF) was reduced in rats that had practiced the TF response prior to morphine administration. This phenomenon, termed behavioral tolerance, was observed even when rats were spinally transected following the TF tests. The present experiments were conducted to determine whether such retention of behavioral tolerance after spinal transection was dependent on prior experience with the TF procedure, or whether other nociceptive pretreatments would also reduce opiate antinociception on the TF test in spinal rats. Separate groups of rats were pretreated with either nociceptive thermal TF or Hot Plate (HP), or mechanical Tail Pinch (TP) stimuli, as well as non-nociceptive exposure to the experimental context )Habituation) or No Pretreatment. Approximately half of the rats were spinally transected after their respective pretreatment, while the other half were left intact. When Intact rats were subsequently tested on the TF at 30, 60, 120 and 180 min after morphine administration, only the TF pretreated group was tolerant, relative to the Non-pretreated control group. However, this was a transient effect, and was only significant at the first, 30-min test; there was no difference among the groups in the total duration of antinociception across all the time points. When spinal rats were tested after morphine administration, there was also an overall significant difference among the groups at 30 min. In this case, the differences were maintained across all time points.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Integrating stress physiology, environmental change, and behavior in free-living sparrows.

As weather deteriorates, breeding animals have a diverse array of options to ensure survival. Because of their mobility, birds can easily abandon territories to seek out benign conditions away from the breeding site. The timing of abandonment, however, may have repercussions for territory size, mate quality, reproductive success, and survival. There is a large body of evidence indicating that the adrenocortical response to stress plays a role in mediating the onset and maintenance of this behavioral switch. Here we develop a model describing the interactions of weather, food availability, body condition, and stress physiology in initiating departure from the breeding site. We tested the model using a population of white-crowned sparrows breeding at high elevation in the Sierra Nevada, where severe weather at the beginning of the breeding season often induces temporary abandonment of breeding territories and facultative altitudinal migration to lower elevation refugia. The data show that (1). during inclement weather, exogenous corticosterone delays return to the breeding site after territory abandonment; (2). during good weather, exogenous corticosterone alone does not induce territory abandonment, but does increase activity range around the breeding site; and (3). the magnitude of the corticosteroid response to stress is inversely related to body condition of the sparrow.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2000

Effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral responses to novelty, learning, and memory, and the circadian rhythm in cortisol in growing pigs.

Previously we showed that pigs reared in an enriched environment had higher baseline salivary cortisol concentrations during the light period than pigs reared under barren conditions. In the present experiment, it was investigated whether these higher baseline salivary cortisol concentrations were a real difference in cortisol concentration or merely represented a phase difference in circadian rhythm. The effects of different cortisol concentrations on the behavioral responses to novelty and learning and long-term memory in a maze test were also studied in enriched and barren housed pigs. At 9 weeks of age enriched and barren housed pigs did not differ in baseline salivary cortisol concentrations nor in circadian rhythm, but at 22 weeks of age barren housed pigs had a blunted circadian rhythm in salivary cortisol as compared to enriched housed pigs. The differences in baseline salivary cortisol concentrations between enriched- and barren-housed pigs are age-dependent, and become visible after 15 weeks of age. Enriched- and barren-housed piglets did not differ in time spent on exploration in the novel environment test. Barren-housed pigs had an impaired long-term memory in the maze test compared to enriched-housed pigs; however, no differences in learning abilities between enriched- and barren-housed pigs were found. Because blunted circadian cortisol rhythms are often recorded during states of chronic stress in pigs and rats or during depression in humans, it is suggested that the blunted circadian rhythm in cortisol in barren-housed pigs similarily may reflect decreased welfare.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Effects of social manipulations and environmental enrichment on behavior and cell-mediated immune responses in rhesus macaques.

This paper reviews a series of studies that have examined the effects of manipulations to the social and the inanimate environments on the behavior and cell-mediated immune responses of rhesus macaques of various ages living in different settings. In general, enrichment of the inanimate environment with toys, structures, foraging devices, and/or videotapes increased the amount of species-typical behavior expressed by the monkeys, but did not affect their immune responses. Housing monkeys socially, on the other hand, not only resulted in increased time spent in species-typical activities, but also resulted in (1) decreases in time spent in abnormal behavior and (2) changes in a number of immune parameters. Additionally, attempts to directly influence the affiliative interactions of socially housed adult rhesus have resulted in systematic changes in affiliative behavior, although anticipated accompanying systematic alterations to cell-mediated immune responses have yet to be realized. The data suggest that aspects of the physical and social environments influence behavioral and immunological parameters in captive macaques in the absence of other experimental manipulations. As such, these influences need to be appropriately managed and/or controlled in order to minimize potential confounds in experimental designs.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Differential effects of environmental enrichment on behavior and learning of male and female Ts65Dn mice, a model for Down syndrome.

We have assessed the effects of enriched environment (EE) upon behavioral and cognitive performances of partially trisomic Ts65Dn (TS) mice and their control (CO) littermates. Enriched environment was applied to pups for 7 weeks after weaning. Circadian spontaneous activity (actimetry), exploratory behavior (hole board), activity in the open field and spatial memory (Morris Water Maze, repeated acquisition and cued paradigms) were analyzed in 86 female and 75 male mice, starting 15 days after completing enrichment. For each gender, mice were distributed in non-enriched and enriched control and trisomic groups. Enriched environment reduced in trisomic females and enhanced in trisomic males' circadian activity. Exploratory behavior was increased by enrichment in all groups, regardless of gender or presence of trisomy. In the Morris Water Maze, a significant improvement of the spatial memory was observed in enriched-control females, but not in enriched-control male mice, as assessed by distances traveled. Performances in the four groups of control animals were also consistently and significantly better than those of matching trisomic mice. In the acquisition trials, enrichment improved performance in trisomic female animals, but deteriorated in trisomic male mice. In all groups, changes in escape latencies and distances induced by enrichment were accounted for by changes in the total time spent in the periphery of the pool, indicating changes in learning strategy. Working memory was the function more affected by enrichment. It is concluded that enriched environment induces behavioral and learning changes in trisomic mice, although gender plays a significant modulatory role.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Genetic and environmental analysis of behavioral risk factors for adolescent drug use in a community twin sample.

We investigated the etiology of six problem behaviors that might facilitate an understanding of behavioral pathways to substance use and abuse in adolescents. These behavioral measures, classified as Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity, School Problems, Low Self-esteem, Neuroticism, and Social Withdrawal were the result of a previously reported (Siewert et al., 2003) modification of the Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI; Tarter, 1990; Tarter & Hegedus, 1991). We developed these measures as interpretable components of risk for substance use and abuse in a community based sample of 633 twin pairs, who were under the legal drinking age of 21 (mean age = 15.0 years). Using multivariate analyses, model comparisons indicated that these six behavioral measures could be thought of as two heritable, and genetically distinct, dimensions of problem behavior. Two closely competing models resulted from our analyses. The best fitting model hypothesized a general genetic factor loading on all 6 behavioral measures with a second genetic factor loading on only the three internalizing behavioral measures with loadings of 0.25-0.59 and 0.26-0.44, respectively. A second model, which fit the data almost as well, hypothesized one genetic factor loading only on the externalizing behavioral measures, and a second genetic factor loading only on the internalizing behavioral measures, with a correlation between the two latent factors of 0.75. Because our analyses show that there are two genetically distinct factors influencing these six problem behaviors, we anticipate that there may be different patterns of relationship of these factors to risk for substance use, abuse, and dependence.

Adolescent↗