title: Exploration of a novel object in late adolescence predicts novelty-seeking behavior in adulthood: Associations among behavioral responses in four novelty-seeking tests.
abstract: The sensation/novelty seeking behavioral trait refers to the exploration/preference for a novel environment. Novelty seeking increases during late adolescence and it has been associated with several neurobehavioral disorders. In this experiment, we asked whether inbred Roman high- and low-avoidance (RHA-I, RLA-I) rats (1) differ in novelty seeking in late adolescence and (2) whether late adolescent novelty seeking predicts this trait in adulthood. Thirty six male RHA-I and 36 RLA-I rats were exposed to a novel object exploration (NOE) test during late adolescence (pnd: 52-59;
  
  
  METHODS
  contact latency, contact time, contact frequency). Head-dipping (hole-board, HB), time and visits to a novel-arm (Y-maze), and latency-in and emergence latency (emergence test) were registered in adulthood (pnd: 83-105). The results showed strain differences in all these tests (RHA-I>RLA-I). Factor analysis (RHA-I+RLA-I) revealed two clusters. The first one grouped HB and emergence test measures. The second one grouped NOE and Y-maze variables. Time exploring a novel object (NOE) was a significant predictor of novel arm time (RHA-I+RLA, RHA-I); contact latency was a significant predictor of novel arm frequency (RLA-I). Present results show consistent behavioral associations across four novelty-seeking tests and suggest that late adolescent novelty seeking predicts this genetically-influenced temperamental trait in adult Roman rats.
authors: Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Aplicada, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Alfredo Lanari, CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Lucas
authors: L
authors: Cuenya
authors: Neurobiology Section and Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Sabariego
authors: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Jaén, Spain.
authors: Rocío
authors: R
authors: Donaire
authors: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Jaén, Spain.
authors: José Enrique
authors: JE
authors: Callejas-Aguilera
authors: Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Jaén, Spain. Electronic address: mctorres@ujaen.es.
authors: Carmen
authors: C
authors: Torres
authors: Departamento de Psiquiatría y Medicina Legal, Instituto de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: albert.fernandez.teruel@uab.es.
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Fernández-Teruel
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D000067290:Behavior Rating Scale; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Emergence test; Hole-board test; Late adolescence; Novel object exploration; Novelty seeking; Roman high- and low-avoidance rat strains; Y-maze test