Tonic immobility and the dorsal immobility response in twelve species of muroid rodents

Webster, Daniel G.; Lanthorn, Thomas H.; Dewsbury, Donald A.; Meyer, Merle E.

doi:10.1016/s0163-1047(81)91034-7

Cited by 52 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The protection afforded P. sungorus by dense vegetation may have reduced the tendency to become immobile in the presence of a predator, as hypothesized for Microtus by Webster, Lanthorn, et al (1981). It should also be noted that the only individual that displayed the tonic immobility response in the present study vocalized continuously while being handled and appeared to be highly aroused.…”

Section: Phodopus Behavior 305supporting

confidence: 51%

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Behavioral patterns of Djungarian hamsters: An adaptive profile

Sawrey

Baumgardner

Campa

et al. 1984

Animal Learning & Behavior

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Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorusi were observed in a series oflaboratory tests, including home cage activity, wheel running, open-field behavior, sexual dimorphism for body mass, copulatory behavior, tonic and dorsal immobility, climbing, digging, nest building, and parental behavior. Fourteen resulting measures were compared with previous results from this laboratory from a variety ofmuroid species. A cluster ofbehavioral adaptations emerged with several marked similarities to the behaviors of a group of North American Microtus species, whereas other behaviors appeared to more closely reflect the classification of the hamsters as cricetines. It is suggested that Phodopus and Microtus species may have evolved many similar adaptive characteristics in response to shared environmental variables.The description and understanding of the behavioral adaptations of organisms are tasks of major importance confronting students of animal behavior. With comparisons of a number of behavior patterns in a variety of species, clusters of behavioral adaptations emerge. These associations of behavioral adaptations, coupled with information regarding the ecological, morphological, and physiological attributes of members of related species, will lead to testable hypotheses concerning the relations among these variables. The resulting general laws may describe a complex of adaptations that are applicable across a wide selection of taxa (Jarman, 1982).Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea are numerous and widely distributed; they inhabit a great range of ecological niches, making them particularly valuable as subjects in comparative research. Most of these species are small, nocturnal, and generally secretive in their habits, making field observations of behavior difficult. However, laboratory investigations can allow direct comparisons of several species in a variety of standardized testing situations. In addition, laboratory tests can be selected that allow behaviors to be quantified easily and data to be collected quickly.Over the past 15 years, muroid rodents have been the subjects of a substantial behavioral research program in this laboratory.

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Section: Phodopus Behavior 305supporting

confidence: 51%

“…It has been suggested that the tonic immobility response is related to a predator response strategy (Gallup, 1977;Webster, Lanthorn, et al, 1981).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral patterns of Djungarian hamsters: An adaptive profile

Sawrey

Baumgardner

Campa

et al. 1984

Animal Learning & Behavior

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“…8 The relationship between the two reactions is supported by the fact that they both share a number of constitutional features: proprioceptive and tactile stimulation of the spine/neck, flaccid paralysis of the body, cholinergic control of wakefulness/sleep and opioidergic modulation of noxious stimulation. These characteristics definitely connect the two phenomena as their simultaneous manifestation is hardly a coincidence; it is, rather, the mark of a profound neuroanatomical kinship (Prestrude 1977;Webster et al 1981;Meyer et al 1984). 9 The same effect can also be achieved by placing the animal in a very tight box/cylinder.…”

Section: Trapped In Their Parents Bosommentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The new state of mind could best be described as a deep tranquilization or hypnotic trance. Thus, it seems as though evolution has reused the stereotypic behavior of prey, as they are carried away in their captor's jaws, in the service of childrearing (Prestrude 1977;Brewster and Leon 1980;Webster et al 1981;Meyer et al 1984;Yoshida et al 2013;Esposito et al 2015). 8 Comparable reactions have been observed in human infants that are posturally inverted and rhythmically stimulated (Peiper 1963;Krojanker 1969;Vrugt and Pederson 1973).…”

Section: The Eye Of the Tigermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…50 As new neural structures emerged around the TI module, its various components (inhibition, visual vigilance etc.) started to uncouple from each other and became embedded in different limbic and cortical circuits: one part leading to the postural atonia of REM sleep (Tsoukalas 2012), another leading to the transport reflex (Prestrude 1977;Webster et al 1981;Meyer et al 1984), and yet another becoming a contributor in the formation of the behavioral inhibition system or BIS (Gray 1982: 480-481). 51 In humans, this process went even further and eventually gave rise to such higher order capabilities as sustained attention and suggestibility (Cortez and Silva 2013), guilt and shame (Bovin et al, 2014), reflective thinking (Patterson & Newman, 1993;Erhard et al, 1999), parentchild attachment (Porges 2003) and the intentionality detector of ToM (Baron- Cohen 1995).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Theory of Mind: Towards an Evolutionary Theory

Tsoukalas

2017

Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Theory of mind is an important mental faculty. However, despite almost half a century of research, we only have a limited understanding of its evolutionary past. The present article proposes a novel hypothesis on the origin of this unique human capacity. According to this hypothesis theory of mind descended from two, closely related, defensive reactions, namely tonic immobility and immobilization stress. Both reactions are conserved in many vertebrate species and are highly prevalent in immature individuals. They are produced by a combination of manual handling and restraint (common in many nursing activities) and implicated in the management of stressful encounters. Most importantly, they have been shown to facilitate eye-contact, gaze-following, and intentional attributions. These traits, and several others detailed in the text, make them prime candidates in the search for the origin of theory of mind. The article presents conceptual arguments and empirical facts in support of this hypothesis.

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

Meyer

Smith

Hartesveldt

1984

Developmental Psychobiology

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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.

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Tonic immobility and the dorsal immobility response in twelve species of muroid rodents

Cited by 52 publications

References 11 publications

Behavioral patterns of Djungarian hamsters: An adaptive profile

Behavioral patterns of Djungarian hamsters: An adaptive profile

Theory of Mind: Towards an Evolutionary Theory

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

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