title: Corticosterone response in the chick separation-stress paradigm.
abstract: Corticosterone response to separation stress and its sensitivity to the anxiolytic, chlordiazepoxide (CDP), were examined in 7-day-old domestic fowl (Gallus gallus). Saline or CDP (8.0 mg/kg) was injected intramuscularly 30 min before tests. Chicks were placed in isolation either with or without mirrors for a 15-min observation period, in which distress vocalizations were recorded. After testing, chicks were euthanized and blood was collected for the corticosterone assay. Chicks tested in the No-Mirror condition displayed an increase in vocalizations that was attenuated by CDP. Similarly, corticosterone levels were highest in chicks tested in the No-Mirror condition; however, CDP only modestly attenuated corticosterone levels. The present findings demonstrate that corticosterone levels parallel the behavioral marker of distress vocalizations in this paradigm, but this biological marker may be less sensitive than the behavioral marker to benzodiazepine anxiolytic manipulations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Feltenstein
authors.forename: L Corinne
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Lambdin
authors.forename: Heather E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Jason E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Warnick
authors.forename: Shabana I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Ikhlas A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Edmund O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Acevedo
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Sufka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002645:Chickens; D002707:Chlordiazepoxide / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D002707:Chlordiazepoxide; D003345:Corticosterone