title: Carbachol-induced agonistic behavior in cats: aggressive or defensive response.
abstract: The effects of intrahypothalamic carbachol microinjections were investigated in unprovoked cats. The carbachol evoked mydriasis, attention, vocalization, and piloerection, i.e. features of a typical defense were usually concomitant in evoked response, while the clear-cut aggressive or escape patterns appeared only once. No basic differences were observed in the set of manifestations induced by low (1-2.5 micrograms) and high (20-40 micrograms) doses of carbachol, and from left and right hypothalamus as well as from medial and lateral portion of the hypothalamus. It is concluded that carbachol-induced response does not represent an aggressive pattern but corresponds to the cats defense and threat behavior.
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000378:Agonistic Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002415:Cats; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D002217:Carbachol