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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Open-field and tonic immobility responses in domestic chicks of two genetic lines differing in their propensity to feather peck.

1. The open-field and tonic immobility reactions of female domestic chicks of 2 genetic lines which showed high (HP) or low (LP) levels of feather pecking were compared. 2. Chicks of the LP line showed less freezing, and vocalised and walked sooner and more in the open field than did their HP counterparts. 3. There were no differences between lines in the durations of their tonic immobility responses, at least in the present study. 4. The pattern of results may reflect line divergence in underlying social motivation rather than fearfulness.

Animals↗

The cholinergic stimulation of the central amygdala modifying the tonic immobility response and antinociception in guinea pigs depends on the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray.

Tonic immobility (TI), also known as death feigning or animal hypnosis, is a reversible state of motor inhibition that is triggered by postural inversion and/or movement restraining maneuvers but also by repetitive stimulation and pressure on body parts. Our previous studies demonstrated that cholinergic stimulation of the central amygdala (CEA) decreases the duration of TI in guinea pigs. Some reports have demonstrated that electrical or chemical stimulation of the CEA promotes antinociception. Evidence suggests that the CEA performs part of its functions by means of a connection with the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG). In the current study, we investigated the participation of a possible functional and anatomical CEA-vlPAG connection in guinea pigs in the regulation of the TI response and antinociception. Our results showed that the functional CEA-vlPAG connection is essential for the participation of the CEA in the modulation of TI and of antinociception. The reversible exclusion of the vlPAG by means of microinjection of 2% lidocaine blocked the inhibitory effect on TI duration and the antinociceptive effect, as determined by a decrease of the vocalization index (VI) obtained with the administration of carbachol (2.7 nmol/0.2 microl) into the CEA. On the other hand, the exclusion of the CEA by lidocaine did not block the antinociception or the increase in TI induced by microinjection of CCh into the vlPAG. Finally, microinjection of the retrograde neurotracer Fast Blue into the CEA or into the vlPAG demonstrated the existence of a reciprocal anatomical connection between the CEA and vlPAG.

Amidines↗

Tonic immobility responses of white leghorn hens affected by induction techniques and genetic stock differences.

Tonic immobility (TI) was induced in about 70% of While Leghorn hens caught and immediately restrained in the dorsal position for a single 15 sec period. Temporary confinement of hens housed in floor pens in single-bird cages prior to restraint reduced initial induction of TI to 46%. Eye closure during TI occurred in less than or equal to 15% of hens and vocalization, jumping up, or both on termination was present about 80% of the time. Induction of TI on first restraint was greater when less support was provided for the hen's body. Latency until first gross leg and head movement after TI induction decreased with increased time required for catching of hens in floor pens, but righting time (until hens stool up) was unaffected. Correlations among the three latency measures revealed the following: between leg and head movement, r .41 to .71 (P less than .01); leg movement and righting, r .51 to .99 (P less than .01); head movement and righting, r -.62 (P less than .05) to .96 (P less than .01). Genetic differences were detected consistently by latency to first gross head movement and by righting time only. Strains selected for part-year egg mass showed more prompt head movement than did unselected controls. Random genetic drift between strains selected alike apparently was responsible for differences in righting time. Although strains within selection schemes differed, crosses between strains did not differ from the mean of the parental strains, providing evidence that genetic variance for righting time tends to be more additive than nonadditive.

Animals↗

The differential effect of haloperidol and repetitive induction on four immobility responses in mouse and guinea pig.

The modification by haloperidol and repetitive induction on four immobility responses -- tonic immobility, cataleptic immobility, immobility by clamping the neck and dorsal immobility -- were compared in mice and guinea pigs. Without drug, three out of four responses (cataleptic, neck clamp and dorsal immobility) were induced in mice; guinea pigs displayed all four responses. Haloperidol (5 mg/kg i.p.) potentiated the three responses shown by mice, but did not potentiate the four responses in guinea pigs. In both undrugged and haloperidol-treated mice, only the cataleptic immobility response was potentiated by repetition. In guinea pigs, none of the four immobility responses was affected due to repetition, haloperidol or a combination of both. These data are discussed, considering that, although these immobility responses could be mediated by the same neurotransmitters (e.g. dopamine), they are possibly expressed in a differential manner as a function of the kind of stimulus used to trigger the response, characteristics of the species and, in some immobility responses such as cataleptic immobility, as a function of their interaction with habituation or another learning-like process.

Animals↗

Effects of estrus, estrogen-progesterone priming, and vaginal stimulation on tonic immobility, dorsal immobility, and lordosis in the female rat.

Three complex inhibitory responses, tonic immobility, the dorsal immobility response, and lordosis, were studied in the intact female rat during estrus and diestrus and in ovariectomized rats with estrogen-progesterone treatment or controls. In each condition, the effects of vaginal-cervical stimulation were also studied. The results of two experiments indicate that estrus and estrogen-progesterone treatment significantly potentiate lordosis and the dorsal immobility response with or without vaginal-cervical stimulation. Tonic immobility was also potentiated by estrus and estrogen-progesterone treatment, but only if vaginal-cervical stimulation was applied. Vaginal-cervical stimulation potentiated both tonic immobility and the dorsal immobility response, but not lordosis, which was already at a high level.

Animals↗

Haloperidol differentially potentiates tonic immobility, the dorsal immobility response, and catalepsy in the developing rat.

The effects of a single subcutaneous injection of haloperidol (1 or 10 mg/kg) or the vehicle solution on three kinds of behavioral inhibition were investigated in rats of 10, 15, and 20 days of age. The behaviors measured were tonic immobility, a response induced by placing an animal on its back supported by a V-shaped trough; the dorsal immobility response, which can be elicited in young rodents by grasping the skin of the dorsal surface of the neck and lifting the animal into the air; and catalepsy, a form of immobility in which animals remain in unusual postures but are capable of righting themselves, and which can be elicited by drugs which block dopamine receptors. Haloperidol (10 mg/kg) significantly potentiated the duration of tonic immobility only at 10 days of age; potentiated catalepsy at all age levels, but significantly less in the 15-day-old rats than in the 10- or 20-day-old rats; and potentiated the duration of the dorsal immobility response in the 10- and 20-day-old animals but not in the 15-day-olds. These results are discussed with respect to the development of neurotransmitter systems in the brain.

Aging↗

Chronic stressors, tonic immobility and leucocytic responses in the domestic fowl.

Tonic immobility (TI) fear reactions and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios were measured in individually caged Brown Leghorn pullets before and after their exposure to one of three procedures lasting approximately 72 hr. These were: ad lib feeding (controls), fasting (removal of food) or frustration of feeding (fasting plus denial of access to visible food). H/L ratios were elevated after fasting or frustration, illustrating the stressful nature of these procedures, but remained unaltered in the controls. Pretreatment TI responses were similar in all groups. Susceptibility and response duration were reduced upon retesting presumably through habituation, but this effect was relatively homogeneous across groups. Any direct effect of fasting/frustration upon fearfulness seemed unlikely because the mean TI responses of control and stressed birds were similar. However, whereas a rank order based on TI durations was repeatable upon retesting in the controls, it was destabilised in the stressed groups. Positive intraindividual correlations were found between pretreatment TI durations and subsequent H/L responses to fasting/frustration. This suggests that leucocytic responses to chronic stressors may be greater in fearful pullets than in less fearful birds.

Animals↗

Blood pressure during induction and termination of the dorsal immobility response.

Evidence has indicated that afferent baroreceptor input may play a role in the induction of the dorsal and tonic immobility responses, which are behaviorally similar, but involve opposite posture changes upon induction (i.e., upright versus inverted, respectively). Information is lacking on the topography of the blood pressure response during periods of dorsal immobility. The blood pressure response of the adult Wistar rat during induction and termination of dorsal immobility was compared to the blood pressure response during a condition which controlled for posture change. Each animal received two control trials, ten dorsal immobility trials and then two control trials in two successive sessions four and ten days after surgery. A precise second-by-second topographical analysis of the dorsal immobility response revealed a sharp rise in blood pressure at trial onset of 18.4 mmHg, followed by a return below pretrial levels and then subsequent recovery back to pretrial levels by the tenth-trial second. This level was maintained until the last five seconds of immobility when a rapid blood pressure elevation occurred. This terminating elevation correlated highly with the observation of large movement and probably reflected motor activity that eventually culminated in escape from immobility. The vertical posture change of the control condition, on the other hand, resulted in a gradual diminution of blood pressure, which implied that the initial blood pressure elevation during initiation of the dorsal immobility response could not be accounted for simply by posture change.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Tonic immobility and heterophil/lymphocyte responses of the domestic fowl to corticosterone infusion.

The tonic immobility (TI) fear reactions, plasma corticosterone concentrations and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios of adults laying hens were measured before and at intervals of 4 and 11 days after the subcutaneous implantation of osmotic minipumps delivering either corticosterone solution (15 micrograms/hr) or only polyethylene glycol vehicle. The dummy pumps exerted no apparent behavioral or endocrine effects, whereas tonic immobility was significantly prolonged and circulating corticosterone concentrations significantly elevated at 4 and 11 days after implantation of the corticosterone minipumps. H/L ratios were significantly elevated from pre-treatment levels in both groups. However, H/L ratios were considerably higher at both post-treatment points among birds receiving corticosterone rather than vehicle. The present findings suggest that chronic elevations of plasma corticosterone not only alter the haematological profile but may also predispose birds to react more fearfully to alarming stimulation.

Animals↗

The effect of beak trimming on two strains of commercial tom turkeys. 2. Behavior traits.

The influence of beak trimming of two strains of commercial male turkeys (Strains A and B) on behavior during the growing period was investigated. Poults were either left with beaks intact or arc beak trimmed at hatching. Strain by beak treatment interactions were generally lacking, indicating that these two strains responded similarly. Beak trimming did not influence tameness (as measured by response to a novel object at 16 wk), fearfulness (as measured by tonic immobility response at 18 wk), or resting behavior from 3 to 15 wk of age. When compared to birds with intact beaks, birds with trimmed beaks spent more time standing during the week of hatching and were observed eating more often at 2 wk of age. Strain B birds were more tame, less fearful, and rested more at 8 and 11 wk of age than Strain A birds. Results of the current study indicate that the influence of arc beak trimming at hatching on behavior of male turkeys at hatching did not appear to have a lasting negative impact on their well-being.

Aging↗

Tonic immobility in the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, Rathbun) its relation to threat of predation.

The tonic immobility. response in the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus, Rathbun) was investigated in a series of seven experiments. Although reported to be a powerful variable in other species, preinduction electric shock produced inconsistent increases in the duration of tonic immobility with the blue crab; Manipulations that were more directly relevant to the fear of predation had considerably greater effects than shock. Physical damage to the chelipeds, mirror image stimulation, and immobilization beneath artificial glass eyes all produced significant prolongation of the immobility episode; Crabs immobilized on a bed of sand rather than on a hard surface showed shorter immobility durations, suggesting that opportunity for escape is an important variable affecting the immobility reactionmthe present results support the contention that threat of predation is the organizing principle behind tonic immobility

Animals↗

Differences in benzodiazepine binding in quail selectively bred for differences in tonic immobility.

We have previously found that quail selectively bred to exhibit long (LTI) or short (STI) tonic immobility responses to manual restraint differed with respect to the affinity of binding at the diazepam-sensitive benzodiazepine binding site. In the current study, binding at other components of the GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor complex was investigated. Whereas the lines did not differ in either number or affinity of GABAA receptors, we found that GABA caused significantly greater enhancement of [3H]flunitrazepam binding in the forebrains of LTI than in STI birds. There was also significantly higher binding to the diazepam-insensitive component (alcohol binding site) of the GABAA-benzodiazepine complex in the forebrain of the LTI line. It is not known, however, whether this difference in the lines is due to differences in number or affinity of these sites. It is discussed whether these manifold differences between the lines in binding at the forebrain sites of the GABAA-benzodiazepine complex could be founded on subunit differences, and whether differences in benzodiazepine binding could underlie the genetically determined behavioural differences in tonic immobility.

Animals↗

Effects of elevated egg corticosterone levels on behavior, growth, and immunity of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks.

Eggs of vertebrates contain steroid hormones of maternal origin that may influence offspring performance. Recently, it has been shown that glucocorticoids, which are the main hormones mediating the stress response in vertebrates, are transmitted from the mother to the egg in birds. In addition, mothers with experimentally elevated corticosterone levels lay eggs with larger concentrations of the hormone, which produce slow growing offspring with high activity of the hypothalamo-adrenal axis under acute stress. However, the effects and function of transfer of maternal corticosterone to the eggs are largely unknown. In the present study, we injected corticosterone in freshly laid eggs of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis), thus increasing the concentration of the hormone within its natural range of variation, and analyzed the effect of manipulation on behavioral, morphological, and immune traits of the offspring in the wild. Eggs injected with corticosterone had similar hatching success to controls, but hatched later. Mass loss during incubation was greater for corticosterone-treated eggs, except for the last laid ones. Corticosterone injection reduced rate and loudness of late embryonic vocalizations and the intensity of chick begging display. Tonic immobility response, reflecting innate fearfulness, was unaffected by hormone treatment. Elevated egg corticosterone concentrations depressed T-cell-mediated immunity but had no detectable effects on humoral immune response to a novel antigen, viability at day 10, or growth. Present results suggest that egg corticosterone can affect the behavior and immunity of offspring in birds and disclose a mechanism mediating early maternal effects whereby stress experienced by females may negatively translate to offspring phenotypic quality.

Animals↗

Comparative study of chronic aluminum-induced neurofilamentous aggregates with intracytoplasmic inclusions of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized neuropathologically by chromatolysis, Bunina bodies, hyaline inclusions, skein-like inclusions and axonal spheroids. Aluminum, a known neurotoxin, is the cause of dialysis encephalopathy and is considered to be a causative agent in high incidence foci of ALS in the western Pacific. We have developed an experimental model of motor neuron degeneration in New Zealand white rabbits using chronic low-dose intracisternal administration of aluminum and compared the clinical and neuropathological changes to those of human ALS. Aluminum-inoculated rabbits developed progressive hyperreflexia, hypertonia, limb splaying, gait impairment, muscle wasting, hindlimb paralysis and impaired tonic immobility responses without overt encephalopathic features over a 14-month period. Examination of spinal cords from these animals demonstrated the frequent occurrence and progressive development of anterior horn cell lesions that included small, round, argentophilic perikaryal inclusions similar to hyaline inclusions seen in human ALS. Other inclusions were more condensed and eosinophilic, while still others had neurofibrillary tangle-like morphologies. Axonal spheroids and neuritic thickenings were also prominent and were identical to those seen in human ALS. We believe that the similar and progressive development of neuropathological changes observed in the chronic aluminum-intoxication model, compared to human ALS, warrants further study to aid in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human motor neuron disease.

Aluminum↗

Effects of alpha-MSH on motivation, vigilance and brain respiration.

In a series of experiments designed to assess the effects of alpha-MSH on various motivational processes, it was observed that the hormone can slightly decrease food intake and increase water consumption during the first hr after administration in rats. alpha-MSH also modified avoidance behavior in 1- and 3-day-old chicks, but there were no reliable effects on activity, distress vocalizations and the tonic immobility response. alpha-MSH appeared to modulate the sleep-waking activity of rats, and the most prominent effect was an increase of slow wave sleep during the 2-3 rd hr after treatment. A possible second effect was a homogenization of sleep patterns--with poor sleepers exhibiting increases of activated sleep and good sleepers a reduction. Measurement of in vitro brain oxygen consumption indicated that mice treated with alpha-MSH exhibit an 18% reduction in respiration of the brain stem section which includes the locus coeruleus, but did not reliably change respiration in forebrain cortices. alpha-MSH also produced a modest 14% increase of plasma glucose. These results are discussed in terms of possible modulation by alpha-MSH of activity in central autonomic cell groups such as the locus coeruleus.

Animals↗

Age-related changes in fear, sociality and pecking behaviours in two strains of laying hen.

1. Two lines of commercial hybrid layers (Tetra and ISA Brown) were reared from hatch to 30 weeks of age in groups of 8. The objectives of the experiment were to evaluate the significance of the different selection practices involved in the development of the lines and to assess the potential association between selected behavioural states and the potential for feather damage and cannibalism. 2. Behavioural tests related to fear (tonic immobility, novel object, open field), sociality (runway, proximity in the home pen) and pecking (feather bunch and focal observations of inter-bird and environmental pecking) were conducted at 0 to 2, 5 to 7, 12 to 14, 19 to 21 and 29 to 31 weeks of age. Scan sampling of general behaviour was also conducted at these ages. 3. Underlying sociality was greater in Tetras than in ISA Brown hens. 4. There were no apparent overall strain differences in fearfulness although ISA Brown hens showed significantly longer tonic immobility fear reactions than Tetras at 31 weeks of age. 5. ISA Brown hens gave and received more gentle pecks than Tetra hens whereas preening was commoner among Tetras. There were no strain differences in the number of pecks at litter or food. 6. As birds aged they showed less avoidance of novel objects and Tetras, though not ISA Browns, showed progressively shorter tonic immobility responses. Birds of both strains spent less time resting, more foraging (pecking and scratching) and pecked more at the feather bunch at older ages. 7. Measures taken in the TI, open field, runway (social affiliation) and feather bunch tests were stable over time whereas focal observations of pecking at hens and the environment were not. 8. Factor Analysis showed that 3 factors defined by the novel object test, environmental pecking and pecking ata feather bunch explained most of the variation in the correlation matrix between summary measures for the 8 behavioural traits.

Age Factors↗

Behavioral effects of acute manganese chloride administration in chickens.

The behavioral effects of manganese chloride at 20 and 40 mg/kg, subcutaneously (sc), were examined in 1-mo-old broiler chickens using the open-field (5 min) and tonic immobility tests. In a separate experiment, chickens were subjected to a pharmacological challenge with the anesthetic combination of xylazine-ketamine following manganese chloride pretreatment at 50 mg/kg, sc. Manganese at 40 mg/kg significantly decreased jumping attempts of the chickens in the open-field test 30 min after the injection when compared with the control (saline) group. Both manganese treatments significantly increased the tonic immobility response of the chickens in a dose-dependent manner in comparison with the control group. Pretreatment with manganese chloride (50 mg/kg, sc) significantly increased the duration of sleep, decreased the latency to onset of analgesia, and increased the duration of analgesia in chickens treated with the anesthetic xylazine-ketamine mixture when compared with the saline control group. The respiratory rate of all anesthetized chickens significantly decreased from respective preanesthetic (time 0) values during the 60-min observation period after injection of the anesthetic. However, 60 min after the anesthetic injection, the respiratory rate of the manganese-treated group was significantly lower than that of the control group. The data suggest a depressant action of acute manganese chloride treatment in chickens.

Animals↗

Potentiation in the neurotoxic induction of experimental chronic neurodegenerative disorders: N-butyl benzenesulfonamide and aluminum chloride.

Repeated monthly intracisternal inoculations of N-butyl benzenesulfonamide induced a chronic, slowly progressive myelopathy in young adult New Zealand white rabbits that was manifested by hyperreflexia, spasticity, hypertonia, gait impairment and altered tonic immobility responses. The neuropathological features consisted of scattered neuroaxonal spheroids, fusiform distention of the intramedullary portions of the spinal cord ventral roots and, as defined by microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP 2) immunoreactivity, an initial distention and subsequent loss of dendritic processes in neurons of the nucleus motoris lateralis with the perikaryon of these cells remaining intact. A similar chronic progressive myelopathy was induced by repeated low dose intracisternal inoculations of aluminum chloride in New Zealand white rabbits. However, the neuropathological changes were more extensive and consisted of dendritic, axonal and perikaryal inclusions of phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated neurofilament localized to spinal motor neurons in the nucleus motoris medialis, substantia grisea intermedia and select brainstem nuclei with only minimal involvement of the nucleus motoris lateralis. The co-administration of these two neurotoxins over the course of 8 months induced striking behavioral changes as well as a fulminant myelopathy. This was accompanied by a loss of neuronal perikarya in the nucleus motoris accompanied by a loss of neuronal perikarya in the nucleus motoris lateralis and topographically extensive neocortical neurofilamentous degeneration. These features suggest that potentiation occurs when the two toxins are co-administered, a view supported by an estimation of the co-neurotoxicity coefficient (CNC greater than 1). Our results have implications for understanding human neurodegenerative disorders in which potentiation of insults may occur, producing a clinical and neuropathological disease state not expected from either agent alone.

Aluminum↗