title: Relationship between emotional status and spontaneous behavior in rats exposed to high pressure.
abstract: When humans and experimental animals are exposed to increased environmental pressure, they develop the high pressure neurological syndrome. In the present study, we have investigated the relationship between the emotional status and the development of pressure-induced behavioral disorders, such as locomotor and motor activity (LMA) and myoclonia, in two genetically selected lines of rats (Roman low-(RLA/verh) and high-(RLA/verh) avoidance), which differ drastically in their level of emotionality. RLA/verh rats presented a greater level of LMA than RHA/Verh rats; RLA/Verh rats also showed myoclonia while RHA/Verh rats did not. These results are discussed in the light of recent experiments in rats exposed to stressful situations or pressure environment. It is concluded that the use of both RLA/Verh and RHA/Verh rats would be of particular interest to better understand the neurochemical and neurological processes underlying the development of LMA and myoclonia in rats exposed to high pressure.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiopathologie Intégrée et Cellulaire CNRS URA, Faculté de Médecine Nord, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fechtali
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rostain
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Abraini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000503:physiopathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006610:High Pressure Neurological Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009207:Myoclonus / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine