Brief light as a practical aversive stimulus for the albino rat

Barker, David J.; Sanabria, Federico; Lasswell, Anne; Thrailkill, Eric A.; Pawlak, Anthony P.; Killeen, Peter R.

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2010.06.020

Cited by 40 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Bright light is an unconditioned anxiogenic stimulus [26–31] that can suppress appetitive behavior [32]. The interaction between anxiety and appetitive behavior was measured as the effects of bright light on conditioned operant lever pressing for a sucrose pellet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated social defeat stress enhances the anxiogenic effect of bright light on operant reward-seeking behavior in rats

Jaisinghani

Rosenkranz

2015

Behavioural Brain Research

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Repeated stress can trigger episodes of depression, along with symptoms of anhedonia and anxiety. Although often modeled separately, anxiogenic factors potently modulate hedonic, or appetitive, behavior. While repeated stress can increase anxiety and decrease appetitive behavior, it is not clear whether repeated stress can influence the impact of anxiogenic factors on appetitive behavior. This study tests whether repeated stress shifts behavior in a task that measures anxiogenic-appetitive balance. To test this, adult male rats were trained to lever press for sucrose pellet reward, and the effect of anxiogenic bright light on this behavior was measured. The impact of the bright light anxiogenic stimulus on lever pressing was compared between groups exposed to either daily repeated social defeat stress or control handling. We found that repeated stress reduced exploration in the open field and decreased social interaction, but had minimal effect on baseline lever pressing for reward. Repeated stress substantially enhanced the effect of anxiogenic bright light on lever pressing. This effect was greater two days after the last stress exposure, and began to diminish within two weeks. These data demonstrate that the anxiogenic and anhedonic features induced by repeated stress can be separately measured, and that the impact of anxiogenic stimuli can be greatly enhanced after repeated stress, even in the face of appetitive drive. The data also demonstrate that some apparent anhedonic-like effects of repeated stress can be due to increased sensitivity to anxiogenic stimuli, and may reflect an imbalance in an appetitive approach-withdrawal continuum.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated social defeat stress enhances the anxiogenic effect of bright light on operant reward-seeking behavior in rats

Jaisinghani

Rosenkranz

2015

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…Light is known to be aversive to albino rats [10], and this aversion can be measured using a light -dark box [11]. A 25 per cent difference in light intensity is sufficient for rats to avoid the brighter side [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rat aversion to isoflurane versus carbon dioxide

2013

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Some experts suggest that sedation of laboratory rodents with isoflurane before euthanasia with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a humane alternative to euthanasia with CO 2 alone, but little research has compared aversion with these agents. Albino rats were tested in a light -dark box where they had the choice between remaining in a dark compartment filling with isoflurane or CO 2 , or escaping to a lit compartment. Experiment 1 validated the procedure by confirming that rats responded to agent and light intensity. In experiment 2, 9/16 and 0/16 rats remained in the dark compartment until recumbent when initially exposed to isoflurane and CO 2 , respectively. In experiment 3, more rats remained in the dark compartment until recumbent during initial (10/16) versus re-exposure (1/16) to isoflurane. These results indicate that initial exposure to CO 2 is more aversive than isoflurane, and that re-exposure to isoflurane is more aversive than initial exposure. We conclude that sedation with isoflurane is a refinement over euthanasia with CO 2 alone for rats that have not been previously exposed to inhalant anaesthetics.

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“…Immediately after a litter was put in the box, the incandescent lamp was turned on, resulting in brightness in the box. Fecal pellets were counted in two minutes (Barker et al, 2010).…”

Section: Behavior Tests Light Box Defecation Test (Lbdt)mentioning

confidence: 99%