title: Effects of cat exposure and cat odors on subsequent amphetamine-induced stereotypy.
abstract: The effect of exposure to a cat, as a predatory stressor, was examined in male and female rats during subsequent tests of amphetamine-induced stereotypy in which cat odors were present or absent. Rats in Group C/O were given a 15-min exposure session to a male cat while they were protected in a wire cage. They were then given an IP injection of d-amphetamine (1 mg/kg) and tested 30 min later for stereotypy in the presence of cat odors (soiled cat litter). Rats in Group NC/O were given a no-cat-exposure control session, and amphetamine tested with cat odors. Groups C/NO and NC/NO were both tested without cat odors (fresh litter), with the former group having been previously exposed to a cat. During the 90-min test sessions, female rats showed significantly more stereotypy than males. More importantly, the male subjects in group C/O exhibited significantly more stereotypy than the males in the other groups, and group NC/NO males showed the least amount of stereotypy. These findings clearly indicate that amphetamine reactivity is influenced by prior exposure to a predator, the presence of predatory odors during testing, and the subject's sex.
authors.affiliation: Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Barber
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005239:Fear / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009812:Odorants; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012737:Sex Factors; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D003913:Dextroamphetamine