Pair-housing of male and female rats during chronic stress exposure results in gender-specific behavioral responses

Westenbroek, Christel; Snijders, Tom A. B.; Boer, den Johan; Gerrits, Marjolein; Fokkema, Dirk S.; Horst, ter Gert

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.01.004

Cited by 73 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…As adults, even the albino rat pays close attention to the activity of animals in adjacent cages when the cage walls are translucent (J.B. Becker, personal observation), so individually housed males each have their own territory but retain the company of other rats. Female rats that are housed individually exhibit chronic stress as indicated by adrenal hypertrophy, whereas individually housed males do not differ from pair-housed males on this measure (Westenbroek et al, 2005).…”

Section: B Behavioral Ecology Of Rats and Micementioning

confidence: 91%

Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction

2016

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Section: B Behavioral Ecology Of Rats and Micementioning

confidence: 91%

Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction

2016

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“…This hypothesis is based on research that reported social housing was more effective in reducing stress responses in males than in females (Beck & Luine, 2002;Kirschbaum et al, 1995;Westenbroek, Snijders, den Boer, Gerrits, Fokkema, & Ter Horst, 2005).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Exercise Training and Social Environment on Stress Resilience in Male and Female Long-Evans Rats

Long¹

2010

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The purpose of this doctoral dissertation research project was to determine if exercise training or social enrichment could enhance stress resilience in rats. The specific aims of this experiment were to evaluate: (1) how combined sleep disturbance and predator stress affect biological and psychological components of the stress response; (2) if exercise training attenuates the biological and psychological components of the stress response and promotes recovery following exposure to sleep disturbance and predator stress; (3) if social support attenuates the biological and psychological components of the stress response and promotes recovery following exposure to sleep disturbance and predator stress; and (4) sex differences in the effects of sleep disturbance and predator stress on biological and psychological components of the stress response.The independent variables were: (1) exercise training (yes, no), (2) social enrichment (pair, individual housing), (3) sex (female, male), and (4) stress period (pre-stress, stress, post-stress). A combined sleep disturbance and predator stressor was administered over a 2 week period. The sleep disturbance stressor was administered daily during the animals' sleep period. The predator stress was administered intermittently during the animals' active period. This iv stressor was designed to be analogous to conditions that military personnel experience during combat deployments. Biological and psychological variables were measured before, during, and after the stress period. The biological dependent variables were corticosterone (fecal and serum) and body weight.

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“…A non-exclusive list of consequences associated with isolation in laboratory animals include the induction of neurochemical and behavioral effects consistent with depression [6], anxiety [7], and psychosis [8], decreased exploration when isolated early in age [9,10], hyperactivity when isolated later in age [11,12], hypertension [5,13], increased or abnormal HPA axis responses [14][15][16][17][18], inadequate responses to aggressors and other stressors [19,20], compromised immune function [21], varied responses to pre-clinical drug tests [22,23] and to poisons [3], increased motivation for sucrose and drug rewards [24][25][26][27], suppression of running-induced neurogenesis [14], and decreased survival rate [10,28]. Congruent with the natural social nature of rodents, it is not surprising that rats prefer a location associated with the presence of another rat compared to a similar location paired without a rat [29].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of a cage divider permitting social stimuli on stress and food intake in rats

Boggiano

Cavigelli

Dorsey

et al. 2008

Physiology & Behavior

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The need to obtain data from individual laboratory animals has forced many researchers to singlyhouse rodents and small animals. Isolation is an abnormal condition for many species, and adverse effects of single-housing on physiology and behavior threaten the validity of experimental results and generalization to humans, who are also social. This study assessed the practical use of a housing device -dubbed "Buddy Barrier" (BB) -that allows rats social stimulation in a paired-housing situation while at the same time permitting the collection of individual measures that traditionally require individual-housing. To assess stress responses to the BB, adult male rats were single or pairhousing for several days with and without a BB in the cage and fecal corticosterone metabolites (fCORT), food intake and body weight were monitored. Plasma corticosterone and adrenal catecholamine levels were also assessed at the end of the housing manipulation. Stress hormone measures did not differ in paired vs. singly-housed rats and paired rats quickly habituated to the BB taken in and out of the cage. Barring a trend for paired rats to eat more in the first 4hrs of the dark, there was no difference in 24hr intakes or body weight gain between singly and paired-housed rats. While the BB attenuated 24hr intakes in both groups, intakes normalized to non-BB conditions by the third BB reintroduction. A device such as the BB can enhance the welfare of animals by providing social enrichment without compromising the integrity of experimental manipulations in protocols that traditionally have required single-housing.

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Pair-housing of male and female rats during chronic stress exposure results in gender-specific behavioral responses

Cited by 73 publications

References 40 publications

Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction

Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction

Effects of Exercise Training and Social Environment on Stress Resilience in Male and Female Long-Evans Rats

Effect of a cage divider permitting social stimuli on stress and food intake in rats

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