Anxiety-like, novelty-seeking and memory/learning behavioral traits in male Wistar rats submitted to early weaning

The most frequently used animal models of early weaning (EW) in rodents, maternal deprivation and pharmacological inhibition of lactation, present confounding factors, such as high stress or drug side effects, that can mask or interact with the effects of milk deprivation per se. Given these limitations, the development of new models of EW may provide […]

Stress inhibits psychomotor performance differently in simple and complex open field environments

Stress affects psychomotor profiles and exploratory behavior in response to environmental features. Here we investigated psychomotor and exploratory patterns induced by stress in a simple open-field arena and a complex, multi-featured environment. Groups of rats underwent seven days of restraint stress or no-stress conditions and were individually tested in three versions of the ziggurat task […]