Title
DSP-4 treatment influences olfactory preferences of developing rats
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1996
Abstract
Control cagemates of rats treated with the norepinephrine (NE) neurotoxin DSP-4, showed normal olfactory learning as infants, but abnormal aversion to home-cage odors as juveniles. Neither age nor social housing conditions influenced the odor preferences of DSP-4-treated rats: they showed tolerance or attraction to familiar odors at both developmental stages. Controls, but not DSP-4-treated juveniles, housed in mixed treatment groups, showed elevated concentrations of a serotonin metabolite and reduced NE concentrations in the hippocampus, suggesting that this social situation was particularly stressful for the controls. DSP-4-treated juveniles, but not infants, produced odors that were discriminable from controls'. Thus, conflicting olfactory signals in the home-cages of mixed juvenile groups may have led to the development of stress in controls. NE depletion appeared to lessen social stress effects in their DSP-4-treated cagemates. These findings support other data suggesting that NE modulates the biobehavioral effects of the social environment.
Recommended Citation
McFarlane, Hewlet; Cornwell, Catherine A.; Chang, Julia; Cole, Barry; Fukada, Yuichi; Gianulli, Thomas; Rathbone, Elizabeth A.; McFarlane, Hewlet; and McGaugh, James L., "DSP-4 treatment influences olfactory preferences of developing rats" (1996). Brain Research 711(1-2): 26-33. Faculty Publications. Paper 16.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/neuroscience_publications/16
Journal
Brain Research
Volume
711
Issue
1-2
First Page
26
Last Page
33