ABSTRACT
The authors examined pre- and postpartum open-field (OF) behavior and maternal responsiveness in mice that they bidirectionally selected for OF thigmotaxis. The authors tested 40 female mice under 3 conditions: prepartum OF, postpartum OF, and a pup retrieval test. In both OF conditions, the high OF thigmotaxis (HOFT) mice were more thigmotactic but explored and reared less than the low OF thigmotaxis (LOFT) mice, indicating that the HOFT mice were more emotional. In the postpartum condition, the HOFT mothers also defecated more and ambulated less than the LOFT mothers. The increase in grooming after parturition was more conspicuous among the LOFT mothers than among the HOFT mothers. The LOFT mothers were also more attracted to their pups in the OF, but the retrieval test did not show any substantial line differences. The results suggested that the line difference in emotionality was more pronounced during lactation than during pregnancy, although parturition exerted no effect on thigmotaxis.
Subject(s)
Arousal/genetics , Exploratory Behavior , Maternal Behavior/psychology , Pregnancy, Animal/genetics , Pregnancy, Animal/psychology , Proprioception/genetics , Selection, Genetic , Animals , Eliminative Behavior, Animal , Emotions , Female , Grooming , In Vitro Techniques , Mice , Motor Activity/genetics , Pregnancy , Reaction Time/genetics , Species SpecificityABSTRACT
Sixty-five women (aged 32 - 54 yrs) were assessed at 2 months before to 8 months after total abdominal hysterectomy on four separate occasions. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS), the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), Measurement of Masculinity-Femininity (MF), Likert scales and semantic differentials for psychological, somatic and sexual factors varied as assessment tools. High-dysphoric and low-dysphoric women were compared with regard to hysterectomy outcomes. Married nulliparae suffered from enhanced depression post-surgery. Pre-surgery anxiety, back pain and lack of dyspareunia contributed to post-surgery anxiety. Pre-surgery anxiety was related to life crises. Pre- and post-surgery hostility occurred in conjunction with poor sexual gratification. Post-hysterectomy health improved, but quality of sexual relationship was impaired. Partner support and knowledge counteracted hysterectomy aftermath. Post-hysterectomy symptoms constituted a continuum to pre-surgery signs of depression, anxiety or hostility.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/psychology , Depression/psychology , Hostility , Hysterectomy/psychology , Postoperative Complications/psychology , Adult , Coitus/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Gender Identity , Humans , Life Change Events , Middle Aged , Orgasm , Personality Inventory , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
In 2 experiments, the authors examined 69 mice selectively bred for high or low levels of open-field (OF) thigmotactic behavior (high open-field thigmotaxis [HOFT] and low open-field thigmotaxis [LOFT], respectively). They found that the strains differed in defecation during the 60-min exposure to the OF. Furthermore, the strains differed with regard to their life spans: The more thigmotactic HOFT mice lived longer than the LOFT mice. The strains were not differentiated by food intake or excretion. The strain difference in thigmotaxis was not age dependent, and it persisted in the home-cage condition as well. Neither the location (center or wall) of the starting point nor the shape (circular or square) of the OF arena affected the difference in wall-seeking behavior between the two strains. The authors concluded that the difference in thigmotaxis (or emotionality) between the HOFT and LOFT mice is a stable and robust feature of these animals.
Subject(s)
Breeding , Selection, Genetic , Age Factors , Animals , Behavior, Animal/physiology , Female , Male , MiceABSTRACT
The main purpose of this research was to investigate whether the difference in open-field (OF) thigmotaxis between mice selectively bred for high and low levels of wall-seeking behavior originated from genetic or acquired sources. Unfostered, infostered, and crossfostered mice were compared in two experiments in which the effects of strain, sex, and fostering on ambulation, defecation, exploration, grooming, latency to move, radial latency, rearing, thigmotaxis, and urination were studied. These experiments revealed that OF thigmotaxis was unaffected by the foster condition and thus genetically determined. The selected strains of mice also diverged repeatedly with regard to exploration and rearing. The findings are in line with the previously described existence of an inverse relationship between emotionality and exploration.
