title: Effects of housing conditions on three behavioral tests in rats.
abstract: Groups of rats housed since weaning under two different kinds of housing conditions (wire and wooden cages) were compared at adulthood in the open field test, the step-through passive avoidance test, and for aggressiveness induced by REM-sleep deprivation and apomorphine administration. In the open field test wire-caged rats showed less rearing and grooming than wood-caged rats. This difference was accentuated by a single previous electrical shock (i.e., wire-caged rats exhibited less ambulation, rearing and grooming and more defecation than wood-caged rats, after shock) and was not altered by prior habituation to handling. In the passive avoidance test there were no significant differences between wire- and wood-caged rats. Wire-caged rats were more aggressive than wood-caged rats after REM-sleep deprivation and the administration of apomorphine. These results show that the control of previous housing conditions is an important variable to be considered in behavioral studies.
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004924:Escape Reaction; D006799:Housing, Animal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012892:Sleep Deprivation; D012895:Sleep, REM
chemical_list: D001058:Apomorphine