Altered behaviour of hamsters by prolonged hypergravity: adaptation to 2.5 G and re-adaptation to 1 G

• Published in: Acta oto-laryngologica Vol. 116; no. 2; p. 192
• Main Authors: Sondag, H N, de Jong, H A, Oosterveld, W J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 1996
• Subjects: Animals; Body Weight; Cricetinae; Humans; Hypergravity - adverse effects; Locomotion; Male; Rotation; Spatial Behavior; Swimming; Weight Gain
• ISSN: 0001-6489
• DOI: 10.3109/00016489609137821

We studied the functional adaptation process in 40 hamsters subjected to either prolonged hypergravity to normal gravity. Subadult golden hamsters (n = 20) exposed to a hypergravity condition of 2.5 G for 6 months were tested to investigate the effect of hyper gravity on the perceptive motor skills and compared with control hamsters (n = 20). The motor coordination of the hypergravity hamsters hardly changed; locomotion was normal and swimming was possible. Equilibrium maintenance was disturbed during the first 3 months as was shown by the higher crossing time (p < 0.001) and higher fall frequency (p < 0.001) for the hypergravity group. Significant differences were also found in orientation during swimming (p = 0.007) and turning behaviour in the rotation task (p < 0.001) and in the no-rotation task (p = 0.029). After 6 months, 10 hamsters of both groups were tested for another 4 months, also the hypergravity hamsters were living at 1 G. Differences in orientation in the two groups did not change during swimming and turning behaviour during the rotation task (p = 0.026). Based on our findings, we conclude that the hamsters functionally adapted to hypergravity, which led to an altered performance of several tasks. The condition continued after 4 months of normal gravity.