| Abstract: | The effect of single severe stress in the form of forced swimming on the behavior of males and females in the mouse inbred strains CBA/Lac and C57BL/6J were examined in the open field test. Measurements were carried out within two hours after the stress exposure (Trial 1) and repeated 2 hours thereafter (Trial 2). Intact males and females of the both mouse strains which tested in the open field twice too were used as control. An increased latency was found until first escape from the center both in males and females of the CBA/Lac strain within two hours after the end of forced swimming. This parameter was still high in females in the Trial2. Four out of seven behavior parameters were changed in females of the C57BL/6J strain two hours after the stress exposure, but their behavior was similar to control in the Trial 2. The males of the C57BL/6J strain demonstrated the least changed behavior in the open field test after the stress exposure with the exception of increased number of grooming in the Trial 1. Further on, a detailed analysis of repeated testing in the open field within intact and stressed mice of both strains was performed. This comparison allowed revealing hereditary and gender peculiarities in the mouse behavior after single severe stress exposure. The results are discussed in respect to the possible genetically inherent increased traitanxiety in females of C57BL/6J strain and the state of anxiety in females of CBA/Lac strain. |
