Sex-specific stress and biobehavioral responses to human experimenters in rats.

ABSTRACT: Important factors influencing the outcome of animal experiments in preclinical research are often overlooked. In the current study, the reaction of female and male rats toward the biological sex of a human experimenter was investigated in terms of anxiety-like behaviors and physiological stress responses, as measured by infrared (IR) thermography, circulating corticosterone (CORT) and oxytocin levels. Female rats displayed consistently exacerbated anxiety-related behaviors along with elevated body surface temperature during repeated exposure to male experimenters. Experimental stress further intensified thermal responses to a male experimenter, especially in female rats. The behavioral responses to a male experimenter in females were associated with higher circulating CORT and lower oxytoc

SUBMITTER: Faraji J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9354940 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature