Role of experimental conditions in determining differences in exploratory behavior of prenatally stressed rats
The effect of prenatal stress was determined on exploration in situations that induce different levels of fear. Dams (12) were stressed by noise and light thrice weekly on an unpredictable basis throughout pregnancy, and 12 controls were left undisturbed. The time spent by different groups of their...
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Published in | Developmental psychobiology Vol. 29; no. 5; pp. 453 - 462 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
01.07.1996
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The effect of prenatal stress was determined on exploration in situations that induce different levels of fear. Dams (12) were stressed by noise and light thrice weekly on an unpredictable basis throughout pregnancy, and 12 controls were left undisturbed. The time spent by different groups of their adult offspring of both sexes in exploration was assessed during 4 min in a plus maze; large, well‐lit open field (1), and open field (2) after prior exposure to a small, dark holebox. Prenatal stress resulted in a significant reduction in the number of arm entries in the plus maze and amount of time spent in the open arms. Locomotion and rearing were also reduced in Open Field 1 and 2, but these activities and hole poking were unchanged in the holebox. It is concluded that prenatal stress renders the animal more fearful to a novel, intimidating environment, which may be expressed as a suppression of exploratory activity. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:DEV4 ark:/67375/WNG-RH6G5HTX-T Israel Ministry of Absorption istex:83586E3A22951552AC52DC5035A7D8759A033EA5 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0012-1630 1098-2302 |
DOI: | 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2302(199607)29:5<453::AID-DEV4>3.0.CO;2-N |