The relationship between housing and social rant on cortisol, Beta endorphin and dynorphin secretion in sows
Endogenous opioids and glucocorticoids may be useful welfare indicators in pigs. Measures of plasma cortisol were carried out in plasma samples collected hourly, from 8:00 to 17:00 h from High Ranking (HR) (n=5) Middle Ranking (MR) (n=7) and Low Ranking (LR) (n=4) group housed sows and from eight Stall Housed Sows (SHS). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) […]
Brain opioid receptors in relation to stereotypies, inactivity, and housing in sows
When animals encounter difficult conditions, endogenous opioids are often released and may help in coping with the difficulties. In sows, prolonged confinement results in behavior abnormalities: high levels of stereotypies or excessive inactivity and unresponsiveness. The possibilities of causal links between endogenous opioids and these behavioral indicators of poor welfare have been raised. Mu receptor […]
Enkephalin and dynorphin mRNA expression are associated with resilience or vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress
There are important and enduring differences between individuals in the magnitude of all aspects of the stress response. Among the neuropeptide systems, the endogenous opioids enkephalin (ENK) and dynorphin (DYN), are very interesting candidates to participate in the naturally occurring variations in coping styles and to determine the individual capacity for adaptation during chronic stress […]