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Biomedical subjects

J Masur

Publications and source records attributed to J Masur.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Evaluation of psychotropic drugs with a modified open field test.

The open field test used to study behavioral alterations induced by psychotropic drugs is based mainly in the defecation, ambulation, rearing and grooming presented by animals subjected to the test. Because of the criticisms raised against the defecation score as a measure of the central effects of drugs, in the present experiment a modification of the test is proposed for the rat. The main points that characterize the new procedure are: (1) defecation scores are not considered; (2) besides ambulation, rearing and grooming, immobility was also recorded; (3) the total time of observation was increased, and (4) the stimuli, usually presented simultaneously in the open field (light and noise), were presented separately. The results obtained suggest that it is possible to differentiate classes of psychotropic drugs, without taking the defecation and grooming scores into consideration. Besides stimulants that evoked a characteristic pattern of behavior, neuroleptics could be differentiated from anxiolytics. Similarities, according to the dose, between barbiturates and anxiolytics were detected. Under LSD a peculiar pattern of behavior characterized by a large reactivity to light was observed.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Genetically selected winner and loser rats: what was selected?

Throughout the 6--12th generation, genetically selected winner and loser rats in the straight runway test, were studied, in relation to weight, open field behavior, behavioral responses to footshock and adrenocortical response following stimulation. The results showed that the Loser Runway Strain (LRS) when compared to the Winner Runway Strain (WRS), were (1) lighter in weight, (2) defecated less, ambulated more and showed higher frequency of rearing-up when submitted to an open field (3) defecated less and jumped more in reaction to footshock and (14) had a higher rise of corticosterone levels following handling or footshock. These differences between WRS--LRS are the same found between male-female rats. This conclusion does not favor the validity of the runway test as a social measure, and suggests that WSR--LRS were selected according to male-female characteristics instead of a winning or losing trait.

Animals↗