title: One-way avoidance acquisition and cellular density in the basolateral amygdala: strain differences in Roman high- and low-avoidance rats.
abstract: The goal of the present experiment was to study the performance of inbred Roman high- (RHA-I) and low- (RLA-I) avoidance rats in one-way avoidance learning and to relate the behaviour of the animals to cellular density in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), a brain region related to fear and anxiety. Thus, females from both strains were exposed either to 30s or 1s in the safe place as a function of experimental condition, until they reached five consecutive avoidance responses. Thereafter, the rats were perfused, and their brains sectioned in 40microm coronal sections, stained with cresyl violet. The area (percentage of field) corresponding to the BLA structures was quantified by computerized-assisted image analysis. The results indicated that RLA-I showed a significantly poorer acquisition of the one-way avoidance task than did RHA-I rats, but only when safe time was the shortest (1s). In addition, the number of trials needed to reach the behavioural acquisition criterion was negatively correlated with BLA cellular density in RLA-I rats. These data suggest the possibility of relating behavioural and neuro-anatomical indexes, enabling exploration of the biological basis of fear/anxiety behaviours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Jaén, Paraje de Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071, Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: M José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morón
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Francisco José
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cándido
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernández-Teruel
authors.forename: Adolf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tobeña
authors.forename: M Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Escarabajal
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013045:Species Specificity