title: [The influence of early experience on the development of cleaning responses in rabbits during ontogenesis].
abstract: A comparison was made of the number of spontaneous cleaning reactions (washing, scratching, licking and shaking) in young rabbits from the seventh to 42nd day of life in different conditions: in the home cage, when first placed in the experimental chamber, after several repeated (daily) stays in the chamber, and after handling. It has been found that when first placed in the chamber the rabbits perform there significantly fewer cleaning reactions than in the home cage; while those which have repeatedly been in the experimental situation, perform considerably more cleaning reactions in the chamber than the intact rabbits of the same age in the home cage. The handled rabbits when they first get into the chamber, also exhibit more reactions than in the cage. This activating influence of early experience goes on for two to three weeks and is followed by habituation, and the number of cleaning reactions in the cage and in the chamber becomes equal. The results are discussed in terms of novelty of the environment, sensitization and habituation.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D006120:Grooming; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D006702:Homing Behavior; D011817:Rabbits
vernacular_title: Vliianie rannego opyta na razvitie resktsiĭ ochishcheniia u krolikov v ontogeneze.