Opioidergic, GABAergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in the dorsal raphe nucleus modulates tonic immobility in guinea pigs

Tonic immobility (TI) is an innate defensive behavior that can be elicited by physical restriction and postural inversion and is characterized by a profound and temporary state of akinesis. Our previous studies demonstrated that the stimulation of serotonin receptors in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) appears to be biphasic during TI responses in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus). Serotonin released by the DRN modulates behavioral responses and its release can occur through the action of different neurotransmitter systems, including the opioidergic and GABAergic systems. This study examines the role of opioidergic, GABAergic and serotonergic signaling in the DRN in TI defensive behavioral responses in guinea pigs. Microinjection of morphine (1.1 nmol) or bicuculline (0.5 nmol) into the DRN increased the duration of TI. The effect of morphine (1.1 nmol) was antagonized by pretreatment with naloxone (0.7 nmol), suggesting that the activation of pi opioid receptors in the DRN facilitates the TI response. By contrast, microinjection of muscimol (0.5 nmol) into the DRN decreased the duration of TI. However, a dose of muscimol (0.26 nmol) that alone did not affect TI, was sufficient to inhibit the effect of morphine (1.1 nmol) on TI, indicating that GABAergic and enkephalinergic neurons interact in the DRN. Microinjection of alpha-methyl-5-HT (1.6 nmol), a 5-HT2 agonist, into the DRN also increased TI. This effect was inhibited by the prior administration of naloxone (0.7 nmol). Microinjection of 8-OH-DPAT (1.3 nmol) also blocked the increase of TI promoted by morphine (1.1 nmol). Our results indicate that the opioidergic, GABAergic and serotonergic systems in the DRN are important for modulation of defensive behavioral responses of TI. Therefore, we suggest that opioid inhibition of GABAergic neurons results in disinhibition of serotonergic neurons and this is the mechanism by which opioids could enhance TI. Conversely, a decrease in TI could occur through the activation of GABAergic interneurons. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inclusão da camomila no desempenho, comportamento e estresse em codornas durante a fase de recria

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da Matricaria chamomila sobre o estresse de codornas japonesas na fase de recria (28 a 42 dias de idade). Foram utilizadas 192 codornas com 28 dias de idades, distribuídas em blocos casualizados e submetidas às dietas com 0, 250, 500 e 750mg de camomila/kg de ração, totalizando quatro tratamentos, com oito repetições e seis aves por parcela. Foram avaliados os parâmetros de desempenho (consumo diário de ração, conversão alimentar e ganho de peso), comportamentais (tempo em imobilidade tônica, ferimentos corporais e agressividade) e fisiológicos (concentração plasmática de corticosterona e relação heterófilo:linfócito). Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a camomila adicionada na dieta não foi capaz de alterar os parâmetros de desempenho, bem como os de comportamento e fisiológicos.

Passionflower supplementation in diets of Japanese qualis at rearing and laying periods

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Is it all death feigning? Case in anurans

Anurans are known to feign death as a way to avoid or minimize the risk of predation. However, information on this defensive strategy is scattered and we believe that there is more than one behaviour type referred to as thanatosis. Here we review the literature, add original data, and propose definitions and new names that complement the present knowledge on the subject. We collected information on 334 individuals of 99 species in 16 families and grouped the recorded displays into two categories of tonic immobility: (1) thanatosis, death-feigning, or playing possum, and (2) shrinking or contracting. These two categories are treated as different behaviour types because of the display pattern (position of fore- and hindlimbs, eye opening), presence of skin toxins (shrinking is mostly displayed by toxic species, whereas thanatosis is mostly displayed by non-toxic species), social context (interaction with predators), and their putative or actual functions. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Simbiótico e extratos naturais na dieta de codornas Japonesas na fase de postura

The objective of this study was to assess the performance, tonic immobility time (TIT), intensity of injuries (II) and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (H:L) by the addition of the symbiotic and plant extract (Aloe vera and Symphytum officinale) to the diet of Japanese quails. Ninety quails were used, distributed in randomized blocks with 3 treatments (0-control; 250 and 750 mg symbiotic and plant extract/kg of diet), five repetitions and six birds per cage. Feed intake, feed conversion, production and weight of eggs, viability, TIT, II and H:L were evaluated. Results showed that the addition of the product to the diet did not affect the performance, however, it decreased the TIT, II and the H:L of quails which received the highest level of the product in the diet. Thus, the use of symbiotic and plant extract in the diet has been promising regarding the behavioral and physiological parameters, decreasing the stress of the animals, mainly for the level of 750 mg/kg diet.

Efeitos genéticos e ambientais sobre o tempo de permanência em imobilidade tônica de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Comportamento de casais Rhynchotus rufescens em cativeiro: relação com imobilidade tônica e eficiência reprodutiva

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Passiflora na alimentação de codornas de postura

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Concentrações plasmáticas de estradiol, testosterona, progesterona, prolactina e corticosterona em perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens), criadas em cativeiro

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Aplicação de análise de sobrevivência no estudo da imobilidade tônica e do comportamento de reintegração social de perdizes (Rhynchotus rufescens)

Pós-graduação em Genética e Melhoramento Animal - FCAV

The functional role of ascending nociceptive control in defensive behavior

Ascending nociceptive control is a novel spino-striato-rostral ventral medulla pain modulation pathway that mediates heterosegmental pain-induced analgesia, i.e., noxious stimulus-induced antinociception. In this study, we used the dorsal immobility response in rats as a model of the defensive responses. We demonstrated that the activation of ascending nociceptive control by peripheral noxious stimulation and spinal AMPA and mGluR1 receptor blockade significantly potentiated the duration of the dorsal immobility response in rats via an opioid-dependent mechanism in the nucleus accumbens. These results demonstrated the functional role of ascending nociceptive control in the modulation of defensive responses and spinal glutamatergic receptors in the dorsal immobility response. The immobility response is an antipredator behavior that reflects the underlying state of fear, and ascending nociceptive control may modulate fear. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Yolk Androstenedione in Domestic Chicks (Gallus Gallus Domesticus): Uptake and Sex-Dependent Alteration of Growth and Behavior

In birds, causes and consequences of variation in maternally-derived steroids in egg yolk have been the subject of intense experimentation. Many studies have quantified or manipulated testosterone ("T") and one of its immediate precursors, androstenedione ("A4") - often lumping the two steroids as "androgens" and treating them as functionally equivalent. However, yolk A4 is deposited in substantially higher concentrations than T, binds only weakly to the androgen receptor, and is readily converted into either T or estrone by steroidogenic enzymes present during embryonic development. Thus it may not be appropriate to assume that A4 has the same effect as T. In addition, A4's metabolic fate is likely to differ between females and males. The goals of this study were to examine the sex-specific uptake and metabolism of yolk A4 and consequences of elevated levels of yolk A4 on development and behavior of domestic chicks. Eggs were injected with 2mu Ci of tritiated androstenedione; radioactivity was detected in all tissues of day 7 and day 16 embryos and found in both aqueous and organics phases of day 7 yolk, with no difference between sexes. A second set of eggs was injected with 125ng of A4. A4 increased growth of morphological traits (tarsus, beak) in females, but not males. A4 males had smaller combs than controls; there was no treatment effect in females. A4 reduced tonic immobility behavior in both sexes. The results of this study illustrate the importance of distinguishing both between androgens and between sexes when investigating avian endocrine maternal effects. Copyright 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elevated progesterone in yolk as a moderator of prenatal and postnatal auditory learning in bobwhite quail

Recent studies have established that yolk hormones of maternal origin have significant effects on the physiology and behavior of offspring in birds. Herrington (2012) demonstrated that an elevation of progesterone in yolk elevates emotional reactivity in bobwhite quail neonates. Chicks that hatched from progesterone treated eggs displayed increased latency in tonic immobility and did not emerge as quickly from a covered location into an open field compared to control groups. For the present study, three experimental groups were formed: chicks hatched from eggs with artificially elevated progesterone (P), chicks hatched from an oil-vehicle control group (V), and chicks hatched from a non-manipulated control group (C). Experiment 1 examined levels of progesterone with High Performance Liquid Chromatography/tandem Mass Spectroscopy (HPLC/MS) from prenatal day 1 to prenatal day 17 in bobwhite quail egg yolk. In Experiment 2, bobwhite quail embryos were passively exposed to an individual maternal assembly call for 24 hours prior to hatching. Chicks were then tested individually for their preference between the familiarized call and a novel call at 24 and 48 hours following hatching. For Experiment 3, newly hatched chicks were exposed to an individual maternal assembly call for 24-hrs. Chicks were then tested for their preference for the familiarized call at 24 and 48-hrs after hatch. Results of Experiment 1 showed that yolk progesterone levels were significantly elevated in treated eggs and were present in the egg yolk longer into prenatal development than the two control groups. Results from Experiment 2 indicated that chicks from the P group failed to demonstrate a preference for the familiar bobwhite maternal assembly call at 24 or 48-hrs after hatch following 24-hrs of prenatal exposure. In contrast, chicks from the C and V groups demonstrated a significant preference for the familiarized call. In Experiment 3, chicks from the P group showed an enhanced preference for the familiarized bobwhite maternal call compared to chicks from the C and V groups at 24 and 48-hrs after hatch. The results of these experiments suggest that elevated maternal yolk hormone levels in pre-incubated bobwhite quail eggs can influence auditory perceptual learning in embryos and neonates.^

Performing immobility / protesting immobility: The risks & rewards of public space protest performances

Though there is much interest in mobilities and performing mobilities as a characteristic of modern, urban, social life today, this is not always matched by attention to immobilities, as the flipside of mobility in modern life. In this paper, I investigate public space performances designed to draw attention to precisely this counterpoint to current discourses of mobilities – performances about the socially produced immobilities many people with disabilities find a more fundamental feature of day-to-day life, the fight for mobility, and the freedom found when accommodations for alternative mobilities are made available. Although public policy is increasingly aligned with a social model of disability, which sees disability as socially constructed through systems, institutions and infrastructure deliberately designed to exclude specific bodies – stairs, curbs, queues and so forth – and although governments in the US, UK, and to a lesser degree Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth nations aim to address these inequalities, the experience of immobility is still every-present for many people. This often comes not just from pain, or from impairment, or event from lack of accommodations for alternative mobilities, but from fellow social performers’ antipathy to, appropriation of, or destruction of accommodations designed to facilitate access for a range of different bodies in public space, and thus the public sphere. The archetypal instance of this tension between the mobile, and those needing accommodations to allow mobility, is, of course, the antipathy many able bodied people feel towards the provision of disabled parking spaces. A cursory search online shows thousands of accounts of antagonism, vitriol, and even violence prompted by disputes which began when a disabled person asked an able person to exit a designated disabled parking space. For many, it seems, expecting them to pass by such parks so others can experience the mobility they take for granted is too much. In this paper, I examine a number of protest performances in public space in which activist present actions – for example, placing wheelchairs in every regular parking space in a precinct – to give bystanders, passersby and spectators, as well as antagonistic fellow social performers, a sense of what socially produced immobility feels like. I examine responses to such protest performances, and what they say about the potential social, political and ethical impacts of such protests, in terms of their potential to produce new attitudes to mobility, alternative mobility, and access to alternative modes of mobility.