Respiratory patterns represent a promising physiological index for assessing emotional states in preclinical studies. Since disturbed emotional regulation may lead to forms of excessive aggressiveness, in this study we investigated the hypothesis that rats that differ largely in their level of aggressive behavior display matching alterations in respiration. Respiration was recorded in male high-aggressive (HA, n = 8) and non-aggressive (NA, n = 8) Wild-type Groningen rats using whole-body plethysmography. Subsequently, anxiety-related behaviors were evaluated in the elevated plus maze and social avoidance-approach tests. During respiratory testing, HA rats showed elevated basal respiratory rate, reduced sniffing, exaggerated tachypnoeic response to an acoustic stimulus and a larger incidence of sighs. In addition, HA rats spent less time in the open arms of the plus maze and displayed higher levels of social avoidance behavior compared to NA rats. These findings indicate that HA rats are characterized by alterations in respiratory functioning and behavior that are overall indicative of an anxiety-like phenotype.

Respiratory patterns reflect different levels of emotionality in wild type rats / Carnevali, L; Nalivaiko, E; Sgoifo, Andrea. - In: RESPIRATORY PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY. - ISSN 1569-9048. - 204:(2014), pp. 28-35. [10.1016/j.resp.2014.07.003]

Respiratory patterns reflect different levels of emotionality in wild type rats

Carnevali, L;SGOIFO, Andrea
2014-01-01

Abstract

Respiratory patterns represent a promising physiological index for assessing emotional states in preclinical studies. Since disturbed emotional regulation may lead to forms of excessive aggressiveness, in this study we investigated the hypothesis that rats that differ largely in their level of aggressive behavior display matching alterations in respiration. Respiration was recorded in male high-aggressive (HA, n = 8) and non-aggressive (NA, n = 8) Wild-type Groningen rats using whole-body plethysmography. Subsequently, anxiety-related behaviors were evaluated in the elevated plus maze and social avoidance-approach tests. During respiratory testing, HA rats showed elevated basal respiratory rate, reduced sniffing, exaggerated tachypnoeic response to an acoustic stimulus and a larger incidence of sighs. In addition, HA rats spent less time in the open arms of the plus maze and displayed higher levels of social avoidance behavior compared to NA rats. These findings indicate that HA rats are characterized by alterations in respiratory functioning and behavior that are overall indicative of an anxiety-like phenotype.
2014
Respiratory patterns reflect different levels of emotionality in wild type rats / Carnevali, L; Nalivaiko, E; Sgoifo, Andrea. - In: RESPIRATORY PHYSIOLOGY & NEUROBIOLOGY. - ISSN 1569-9048. - 204:(2014), pp. 28-35. [10.1016/j.resp.2014.07.003]
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11381/2797378
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 21
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 19
social impact