Emotional Behavior and Adrenal Function in the Rat

Abstract

The relationship of open-field behaviors (latency, ambulation, rearing, and defecation) and adrenal weight and adrenal ascorbic acid (AAA) was investigated. 38 male Sprague-Dawley rats received one daily trial in the open field for 4 days. Measures of adrenal weight and AAA were subsequently obtained. Correlations between variables indicated no meaningful relationship between emotional defecation and adrenal responses. Rearing correlated significantly with AAA. Latency was significantly related with adrenal weight. These results are consistent with recent studies investigating performance of emotional Ss on escape-avoidance conditioning and CER behavior.