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At least 1,405 records · Page 78Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Observations on the behavior of gibbons (Hylobates leucogenys, H. gabriellae, and H. lar) in the presence of mirrors.

Three captive gibbons (Hylobates leucogenys, H. gabriellae, and H. lar) were videotaped in the course of longitudinal exposure to mirrors introduced into their familiar cage or island housing situation. The gibbons, which differed in age, sex, species, and rearing condition, exhibited great individual differences in their behavioral reactions to mirrors, spanning from a minimal reaction dominated by social responses to a dramatic sequence of progressive behavioral change that featured a variety of contingency testing behaviors and included mirror-mediated, self-directed behavior. Additional information on the mirror competence of gibbons was provided by modified mark tests and a hidden object task. The results are discussed in relation to current criteria for self-recognition in primates and factors involved in individual and species differences in reactions to mirror exposure.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Inseminated female mice (Mus musculus) investigate rather than avoid novel males that disrupt pregnancy, but sires protect pregnancy.

Experiment 1 replicated the Bruce effect, showing pregnancy termination in CF1 strain female mice (Mus musculus) housed underneath novel heterogeneous strain (HS) males. In a 4-arm maze in Experiment 2, inseminated CF1 females approached novel HS males more often than CF1 sires or unfamiliar CF1 males. In Experiment 3, inseminated females showed random nesting sites when housed continuously underneath 4 compartments containing the sire, a novel CF1 male, a novel HS male, and no stimulus. In Experiment 4, when inseminated females were housed with or without the sire below novel HS males, the sire's presence decreased female interaction with novel males and mitigated the Bruce effect. Inseminated females do not reliably avoid males that disturb pregnancy unless the sire is immediately present.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

How prosimian primates represent tools: experiments with two lemur species (Eulemur fulvus and Lemur catta).

The authors examined how 2 lemur species (Eulemur fulvus and Lemur catta) reason about tools. Experiment 1 allowed subjects to use 1 of 2 canes to retrieve an inaccessible food reward. Lemurs learned to solve this problem as quickly as other primates. Experiment 2 then presented subjects with novel tools differing from the originals along one featural dimension. Subjects attended more to tools' sizes than to their colors and made no distinction between tools' shapes and textures. Experiments 3 and 4 presented problems in which some of the tools' orientations had to be modified relative to the food. Subjects performed well on these problems, sometimes modifying the position of the tool. These results are discussed in light of the performance of other primates on this task.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Modulation of different states of anxiety-like behavior by chronic stress.

Recent studies have identified putative cellular correlates of stress-induced amygdalar plasticity underlying anxiety-like behavior. Chronic immobilization stress (CIS), but not chronic unpredictable stress (CUS), has been reported to induce dendritic remodeling in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). The BLA is also important for consolidation of anxiety in the elevated plus-maze, which is manifested as increased open-arm avoidance on reexposure to the maze. The authors found that CIS, unlike CUS, facilitated anxiety-like behavior in the plus-maze, and this occluded further increase in anxiety when CIS rats were reexposed to the maze 72 hr after the first trial. However, both CUS and control rats exhibited consolidation between trials. Thus, consolidation of anxiety may share common cellular mechanisms that also underlie chronic stress-induced structural plasticity in the amygdala.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2005

Dissociating the role of the parietal cortex and dorsal hippocampus for spatial information processing.

Dorsal hippocampus, parietal cortex, and control lesioned rats were tested on both a metric and topological task. The metric task consisted of 2 different objects placed 68 cm apart on a cheese board. After habituation, the objects were moved to a separation of 38 cm on Day 1 and to a separation of 98 cm on Day 2. The topological task consisted of 4 different objects placed in a square orientation. After habituation, the first 2 objects were switched, and after the rats habituated to that change, the back 2 objects were switched. This was repeated on a different day with 4 new objects. The data suggest that the hippocampus is necessary for metric representations, whereas the parietal cortex is necessary for topological representations.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Reproductive experience and activation of maternal memory.

The maternal and neurobiological responses of biological mothers and pup-induced maternal virgin rats were compared 55 and 80 days after an initial 2-day maternal experience. When tested for home cage responsiveness after prolonged isolation from young, the biological, primiparous rats displayed shorter maternal latencies. Primiparous females tested in the presence of pups on the elevated plus-maze displayed increased exploration of the open arms and increased c-Fos expression in the cortical nucleus of the amygdala. Pup exposure and parity also enhanced activation of the nucleus accumbens shell and medial nucleus of the amygdala, respectively. Therefore, although both nulliparous and primiparous rats retain a maternal memory for a prolonged time, the memory and neurochemical response appear stronger in primiparous mothers.

Amygdala↗
PubMed2005

What is interesting? Exploring the appraisal structure of interest.

Relative to other emotions, interest is poorly understood. On the basis of theories of appraisal process and structure, it was predicted that interest consists of appraisals of novelty (factors related to unfamiliarity and complexity) and appraisals of coping potential (the ability to understand the new, complex thing). Four experiments, using in vivo rather than retrospective methods, supported this appraisal structure. The findings were general across measured and manipulated appraisals, interesting stimuli (random polygons, visual art, poetry), and measures of interest (self-reports, forced-choice, behavioral measures). Furthermore, the appraisal structure was specific to interest (it did not predict enjoyment, a related positive emotion), and appraisals predicted interest beyond relevant traits (curiosity, openness). The appraisal perspective offers a powerful way of construing the causes of interest.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1975

Persistent depression of rearing behavior in rats after extensive septal lesions.

Extensive septal lesions produced a persistent (76 days) reduction in rearing behavior which was not directly attributable to altered deprivation states, emotionality, activity levels, or competing behaviors and which occurred in familiar as well as various novel testing environments. Changes in visual, olfactory, or conspecific stimuli ameliorated or had no effect on the lesion effect. The results indicate that the septal area is importantly involved in normal rearing behavior and that lesion-induced alterations in responsiveness to some forms of stimulation may play a modulatory role in reduced rearing. It is also suggested that the septal area may constitute a portion of a neural system responsible for the initiation of this form of response.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Mouse aggression and the intruder-familiarity effect: evidence for multiple-factor determination c57bl.

Male house mice attack their familiar cagemates less than novel intruders-an effect often attributed to habituation of aggression toward odors emanating from the cagemate. This interpretation is overly simplistic in that the effects of familiarizing preexposure depend additionally upon two factors. One factor is the aggression-inhibiting odors emanating from the test male that are deposited onto the cagemate by cohabitation. Supporting evidence is that attack inhibition to the cagemate failed to generalize to noncohabiting same-strain intruders and that eliminating physical contact between subject and cagemate during preexposure prevented the usual postexposure decline in aggression. The second factor is nonolfactory social stimuli emanating from the cagemate during aggressive encounters. The same intruder odors that elicited aggression when placed on a socially active mouse elicited only investigation when placed on models. When subjects were preexposed to an intruder's odor while prevented from socially interacting with the intruder, this investigation subsequently declined while aggression paradoxically increased.

Aggression↗
PubMed1980

Glucocorticoids, the hippocampus, and behavior: interactive relation between task activation and steroid hormone binding specificity.

A previous investigation established a modulatory effect of adrenal glucocorticoids on a behavior generally believed to require participation of the hippocampus for normal expression. For further delineation of whether the observed effects on appetitive extinction are consistent with a glucocorticoid action on hippocampus, adrenalectomized rats were administered either corticosterone or dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid that is accumulated much less intensively by the hippocampus than is corticosterone. While corticosterone normalized extinction, dexamethasone did not. In two other hippocampal-dependent behaviors, alternation and exploration, there was no glucocorticoid modulation of behavior, which may indicate that factors such as the level of activation of the type of learning determine whether a glucocorticoid effect will occur. These findings of a glucocorticoid action on one of three tasks that involve hippocampal function reinforce the notion that in addition to their well-studied actions in protein and carbohydrate metabolism, the adrenal glucocorticoids may also be subtle modulators of behavior.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗