An assessment of prolactin's value as an index of stress.
On an every other day basis, chronically catheterized male rats were subjected to a 30 sec grid shock in either an ascending (0.0, 0.25, 1.0, 4.0 mA) or descending order. A third group was repeatedly subjected to 1.0 mA shock over the same time frame. In 85% of the shock trials, plasma prolactin increased from baseline levels, thus indicating that prolactin is a relatively reliable index of stress. However prolactin did not change in a step-wise fashion with stressor intensity for a significant number of rats. Data from the group given repeated exposure to the 1 mA stressor showed no evidence of habituation--a process which might have explained the findings. This study indicates that prolactin levels do not sensitively track stressor intensity for individual rats.
Natelson
B H
BH
Primate Neuro-behavioral Unit, VA Medical Center, East Orange, NJ.
Ottenweller
J E
JE
Pitman
D
D
Tapp
W N
WN
D000818:Animals; D004597:Electroshock; D008297:Male; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology
D011388:Prolactin