title: Lateralized response to diazepam predicts temperamental style in rhesus monkeys.
abstract: Based on previous findings in humans and rhesus monkeys suggesting that diazepam has asymmetrical effects on frontal lobe activity and other literature supporting a role for the benzodiazepine system in the mediation of individual differences in anxiety and fearfulness, the relation between asymmetrical changes in scalp-recorded regional brain activity in response to diazepam and the temperamental dimension of behavioral inhibition indexed by freezing time in 9 rhesus monkeys was examined. Animals showed greater relative left-sided frontal activation in response to diazepam compared with the preceding baseline. The magnitude of this shift was strongly correlated with an aggregate measure of freezing time (r = .82). The implications of these findings for understanding the role of regional differences in the benzodiazepine system in mediating individual differences in fearfulness are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kalin
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Shelton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D007206:Individuality; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013694:Temperament / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003975:Diazepam