Differences in locomotor activity between rats and gerbils in response to novelty

Osborne, Guy L.

doi:10.1016/s0091-6773(77)92068-5

Cited by 15 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Alternatively, as has been demonstrated in previous studies, the two tests (Novel Environment and Novel Object Tests) may have induced different levels of fear yielding different behavioural responses. Previous studies have emphasized the important role of refuge access in rodents in the novel environment test: rats quickly entered a small darkened box [36] , [37] or did not even leave the refuge when provided with a start box [38] , [39] , and when given a choice between entering a novel area or a home cage, the rats chose the home cage more frequently, even when having to confront a foot shock to do so [38] . In mice, behavioural responses were reflected in the plasma corticosterone levels that increased when the animals were placed in a novel environment without escape option, but remained unchanged when the animals were presented with a novel object in a familiar environment [29] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear and Exploration in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): A Comparison of Hand-Reared and Wild-Caught Birds

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The revision of EU legislation will ban the use of wild-caught animals in scientific procedures. This change is partially predicated on the assumption that captive-rearing produces animals with reduced fearfulness. Previously, we have shown that hand-reared starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) indeed exhibit reduced fear of humans compared to wild-caught conspecifics. Here, we asked whether this reduction in fear in hand-reared birds is limited to fear of humans or extends more generally to fear of novel environments and novel objects. Comparing 6–8 month old birds hand-reared in the lab with age-matched birds caught from the wild as fledged juveniles a minimum of 1 month previously, we examined the birds' initial reactions in a novel environment (a small cage) and found that wild-caught starlings were faster to initiate movement compared to the hand-reared birds. We interpret this difference as evidence for greater escape motivation in the wild-caught birds. In contrast, we found no differences between hand-reared and wild-caught birds when tested in novel object tests assumed to measure neophobia and exploratory behaviour. Moreover, we found no correlations between individual bird's responses in the different tests, supporting the idea that these measure different traits (e.g. fear and exploration). In summary, our data show that developmental origin affects one measure of response to novelty in young starlings, indicative of a difference in either fear or coping style in a stressful situation. Our data contribute to a growing literature demonstrating effects of early-life experience on later behaviour in a range of species. However, since we did not find consistent evidence for reduced fearfulness in hand-reared birds, we remain agnostic about the welfare benefits of hand-rearing as a method for sourcing wild birds for behavioural and physiological research.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear and Exploration in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): A Comparison of Hand-Reared and Wild-Caught Birds

2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The literature is controverse with regard to the interpretation of single behavioral parameters, such as those that can be measured in behavioral tests such as the open field, in the context of emotionality. Common assumptions are that (1) emotionality (fear) and exploration are inversely related, i.e., high levels of fear inhibit exploration; (2) high and low anxiety levels suppress exploration and intermediate fear levels increase exploration (Archer, 1973;Candland & Nagy, 1969;Russell, 1973); and (3) reduced emotionality is expressed by decreased running and rearing activities (Denenberg, 1969;Escorihuela, Fernandez-Teruel, Gil, Aguilar, Tobena, & Driscoll, 1999;Liebsch, Montkowski, Holsboer, & Landgraf, 1998;Osborne, 1977). Stereotyped distress vocalizations emitted by young animals of a variety of species during situations of maternal separation and social isolation is considered as a reliable parameter, which shows a strong positive correlation with anxiety levels (Hofer, Masmela, Brunelli, & Shair, 1999;Panksepp, Herman, Conner, Bishop, & Scott, 1978).…”

Section: Discussion Open Field Behaviors As Measurements For Emotionamentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of parental deprivation on the behavioral development in Octodon degus: Modulation by maternal vocalizations

Braun

Kremz

Wetzel

et al. 2003

Developmental Psychobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Repeated separation from the family during very early stages of life is a stressful emotional experience which induces a variety of neuronal and synaptic changes in limbic cortical areas that may be related to behavioral alterations. First, we investigated whether repeated parental separation and handling, without separation from the family, leads to altered spontaneous exploratory behavior in a novel environment (open field test) in 8-day-old Octodon degus. Second, we tested whether the parentally deprived and handled animals display different stimulus-evoked exploratory behaviors in a modified open field version, in which a positive emotional stimulus, the maternal call, was presented. In the open field test a significant influence of previous emotional experience was found for the parameters of running, rearing, and vocalization. Parentally deprived degus displayed increased horizontal (running) and vertical (rearing) motoric activities, but decreased vocalization, compared to normal and handled controls. The presentation of maternal vocalizations significantly modified running, vocalization, and grooming activities, which in the case of running activity was dependent on previous emotional experience. Both deprivation-induced locomotor hyperactivity together with the reduced behavioral response towards a familiar acoustic emotional signal are similar to behavioral disturbances observed in human attachment disorders.

show abstract

“…Mongolian gerbils are curious rodents which show a high level of exploratory behavior in the open-field situation. A number of studies have shown that exploratory behavior increases as novelty of the situation increases (Osborne, 1977). Wilz and Bolton (1971) found that when familiar stimuli in an open field were rearranged, gerbils significantly increased their exploratory behavior.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction of male Mongolian gerbils to odors in a social situation.

Pettijohn¹,

Paterson²

1982

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Differences in locomotor activity between rats and gerbils in response to novelty

Cited by 15 publications

References 11 publications

Fear and Exploration in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): A Comparison of Hand-Reared and Wild-Caught Birds

Fear and Exploration in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): A Comparison of Hand-Reared and Wild-Caught Birds

Influence of parental deprivation on the behavioral development in Octodon degus: Modulation by maternal vocalizations

Reaction of male Mongolian gerbils to odors in a social situation.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About