Adrenal activity and anxiety-like behavior in fur-chewing chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) |
| |
Authors: | Ponzio Marina F Monfort Steven L Busso Juan Manuel Carlini Valeria P Ruiz Rubén D Fiol de Cuneo Marta |
| |
Institution: | Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. mponzio@mater.fcm.unc.edu.ar |
| |
Abstract: | Due to its complexity, in combination with a lack of scientific reports, fur-chewing became one of the most challenging behavioral problems common to captive chinchillas. In the last years, the hypothesis that fur-chewing is an abnormal repetitive behavior and that stress plays a role in its development and performance has arisen. Here, we investigated whether a relationship existed between the expression and intensity of fur-chewing behavior, elevated urinary cortisol excretion and anxiety-related behaviors. Specifically, we evaluated the following parameters in behaviorally normal and fur-chewing animals of both sexes: (1) mean concentrations of urinary cortisol metabolites and (2) anxiety-like behavior in an elevated plus-maze test. Urinary cortisol metabolites were higher only in females that expressed the most severe form of the fur-chewing behavior (P≤0.05). Likewise, only fur-chewing females exhibited increased (P≤0.05) anxiety-like behaviors associated with the elevated plus-maze test. Overall, these data provided additional evidence to support the concept that fur-chewing is a manifestation of physiological stress in chinchilla, and that a female sex bias exists in the development of this abnormal behavior. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|