Defensive burying refers to the typical rodent behavior of displacing bedding material with vigorous treading-like movements of their forepaws and shoveling movements of their heads directed towards a variety of noxious stimuli that pose a near and immediate threat, such as a wall-mounted electrified shock-prod. Since its introduction 25 years ago by Pinel and Treit [J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. ...

BACKGROUND Complex behavioral traits such as coping strategies in response to stress are usually formed by genetic and environmental influences. METHODS By exploiting the phenotypic and genotypic differences between the Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and Fischer 344 (F344) inbred rat strains, we recently identified three X chromosome-linked quantitative trait loci contributing to differences in coping st...

BACKGROUND Chronic ethanol exposure reduces dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens, which may contribute to the negative affective symptoms associated with ethanol withdrawal. Kappa opioid receptors have been implicated in withdrawal-induced excessive drinking and anxiety-like behaviors and are known to inhibit dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. The effects of chronic ethanol ex...

The burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis, is the first beetle exhibiting parental care for which endocrinological studies have been initiated. Burying beetles bury and prepare small vertebrate carcasses as a breeding resource for their offspring. After emergence as an adult, hemolymph titers of juvenile hormone and ovarian size increase in concert for 2–3 weeks, and both plateau until an appr...

Citrus aurantium L. is popularly used to treat anxiety, among other indications suggesting central nervous system action. Previous studies showed anxiolytic effect in the essential oil from peel in mice evaluated on the elevated plus maze [Carvalho-Freitas, M.I.R., Costa, M., 2002. Anxiolytic and sedative effects of extracts and essential oil from Citrus aurantium L. Biological and Pharmaceutic...

The cost of reproduction theory posits that there are trade-offs between current and future reproduction because resources that are allocated to current offspring cannot be used for future reproductive opportunities. Two adaptive reproductive strategies have been hypothesized to offset the costs of reproduction and maximize lifetime fitness. The terminal investment hypothesis predicts that as i...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a class of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as restricted interests and repetitive behavior. This latter class of symptoms often includes features such as compulsive behaviors and resistance to change. The BTBR T+ tf/J mouse strain has been used as an animal mod...