Relationships Between Exploratory Behaviour and Fear: A Review

Russell, Phil

doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1973.tb01369.x

Cited by 159 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…In a test of free exploratory behavior, BALB͞c mice were placed in a large unfamiliar environment (23)(24)(25). Exploration was measured in activity monitors (40 ϫ 40 ϫ 30 cm, Omnitech Electronics, Columbus, OH) placed in a soundproof room with no light.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Orphanin FQ acts as an anxiolytic to attenuate behavioral responses to stress

Jenck

Moreau

Martin

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

338

231

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Orphanin FQ (OFQ, Nociceptin) is a recently discovered 17-amino acid neuropeptide that is structurally related to the opioid peptides but does not bind opioid receptors. OFQ has been proposed to act as an anti-opioid peptide, but its widespread sites of action in the brain suggest that it may have more general functions. Here we show that OFQ plays an important role in higher brain functions because it can act as an anxiolytic to attenuate the behavioral inhibition of animals acutely exposed to stressful͞anxiogenic environmental conditions. OFQ anxiolytic-like effects were consistent across several behavioral paradigms generating different types of anxiety states in animals (light-dark preference, elevated plus-maze, exploratory behavior of an unfamiliar environment, pharmacological anxiogenesis, operant conf lict) and were observed at low nonsedating doses (0.1-3 nmol, intracerebroventricular). Like conventional anxiolytics, OFQ interfered with regular sensorimotor function at high doses (>3 nmol). Our results show that an important role of OFQ is to act as an endogenous regulator of acute anxiety responses. OFQ, probably in concert with other major neuropeptides, exerts a modulatory role on the central integration of stressful stimuli and, thereby, may modulate anxiety states generated by acute stress.Orphanin FQ (OFQ, Nociceptin) is a 17-amino acid neuropeptide that is structurally related to the opioid peptides but does not act on , ␦, or opioid receptor subtypes (1, 2). OFQ selectively binds its own receptor (OFQR), which is also sequentially related to the opioid receptors, yet does not bind opioid ligands (3-8). The OFQR couples to G proteins to modulate second messenger systems and cell excitability (9-11). When delivered intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) in a large dose range (0.1-10 nmol), OFQ was found to block stress and opioid-mediated antinociception (12, 13), to stimulate feeding in satiated rats (14), and to increase or decrease, depending on dosage, locomotion (1, 15) or nociception (16, 17) in rodents. OFQ, its precursor, and OFQR are present in several brain regions involved in integration of the emotional components of fear and stress such as the amygdaloid complex, thalamic and hypothalamic regions, or central gray regions (1-8, 18, 19). This has led us to investigate whether OFQ might also have a role in higher brain functions and would control behavioral responses to stress that relate to anxiety states. To investigate this hypothesis, a battery of behavioral models of anxiety and fear (light-dark aversion, elevated plus-maze, exploratory behavior of an unfamiliar environment, pharmacological anxiogenesis, operant conflict) were used on mice and rats. In these assays, fear-like responses of a composite nature are generated by exposure to various stressful environmental conditions (20-27). These paradigms have been established for their sensitivity to conventional anxiolytic tranquilizers and anxiogenic compounds of various structural classes and mechanisms of action. They were pha...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Orphanin FQ acts as an anxiolytic to attenuate behavioral responses to stress

Jenck

Moreau

Martin

et al. 1997

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

338

231

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“…These data show that the effect of lesions of the amygdala and related structures on exploration are different when different types of exploration are measured. The role of the amygdala and its afferent and efferent neural connections in mediating the two types of exploration studied is discussed.Although exploration by rats has been studied extensively at the behavioral level (Barnett, 1963;Barnett & Cowan, 1976;Fowler, 1965;Halliday, 1968;Lester, 1968;McReynolds, 1962;Russell, 1973), relatively little is known about the affective processes and the related neural substrates which mediate this behavior. Exploration is usually discussed in relation to emotionality in general, and to such anthropomorphic concepts as "fear" and "curiosity" in particular (Blanchard & Blanchard, 1972;Blanchard, Kelley, & Blanchard, 1974;Montgomery, 1955;Montgomery & Monkman, 1955).…”

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confidence: 99%

Effects of lesions of the amygdala, pyriform cortex, and stria terminalis on two types of exploration by rats

Coulombe

White

1978

Psychobiology

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Bilateral lesions were made in three groups of rats, selectively destroying the corticomedial amygdala, the pyriform cortex, or the dorsal stria terminalis. During Phase 1 of the experiment, the behavior of each rat was observed in an open-field apparatus for 4 consecutive days for 5 min per day. This phase permitted an evaluation of exploration that occurs when a rat is forced into contact with novelty. During Phase 2, a novel object was placed in the center of the open field and the procedure was repeated for 4 more days. This phase permitted an evaluation of the exploration that occurs when a rat can interact voluntarily with novelty. Lesions of the corticomedial amygdala increased contact with novelty during Phase 1 and increased exploration of the novel object during Phase 2. Stria terminalis lesions produced the same pattern, except that contact and exploration were decreased. Pyriform lesions decreased exploration only during Phase 2. These data show that the effect of lesions of the amygdala and related structures on exploration are different when different types of exploration are measured. The role of the amygdala and its afferent and efferent neural connections in mediating the two types of exploration studied is discussed.Although exploration by rats has been studied extensively at the behavioral level (Barnett, 1963;Barnett & Cowan, 1976;Fowler, 1965;Halliday, 1968;Lester, 1968;McReynolds, 1962;Russell, 1973), relatively little is known about the affective processes and the related neural substrates which mediate this behavior. Exploration is usually discussed in relation to emotionality in general, and to such anthropomorphic concepts as "fear" and "curiosity" in particular (Blanchard & Blanchard, 1972;Blanchard, Kelley, & Blanchard, 1974;Montgomery, 1955;Montgomery & Monkman, 1955). This notion has led several investigators to study the role of the amygdala in exploration. The studies to date have all examined the effects of lesions of this structure on exploration.Corman, Meyer, and Meyer (1967) found that rats with bilateral lesions of the basolateral amygdala exhibited slightly (but not significantly) more locomotor activity than normal rats. McIntyre and Stein (1973) reported that bilateral destruction of the central nucleus of the amygdala produced no change in levels of locomotor activity and exploration. White and Weingarten (1976) found that satiated rats with bilateral lesions of the basolateral nucleus and adjacent pyriform cortex explored more than normal rats when exposed to novel visual and olfactory stimuli. However, in the same study, similar lesions produced decreases in exploration in food-deprived animals.These results are difficult to interpret for several reasons. First the studies cited have not all taken into account the several different types of exploration that have been identified on the behavioral level. Berlyne (1960) described three distinct types of exploratory behavior in rats and the operational conditions associated with each: (1) Inspective exploration occurs ...

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“…Exposure to a novel environment for a continuous period or for several discrete periods will, in general, result in a gradual decrease of locomotor activity over the course of several days or weeks (Russell, 1973;Warren and Callaghan, 1976;Clark and Ehlinger, 1987). Novelty represents a potentially stressful situation (Russell, 1973;Csányi and Tóth, 1985;Gervai and Csányi, 1986).…”

Section: Interpretation Of Fish Locomotion With Nonlinear Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Novelty represents a potentially stressful situation (Russell, 1973;Csányi and Tóth, 1985;Gervai and Csányi, 1986). For example, male guppies initially show high velocity swimming at the periphery of an open field, and it has been suggested that this activity is related to some degree of fear (Warren and Callaghan, 1976).…”

Section: Interpretation Of Fish Locomotion With Nonlinear Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamical analysis reveals individuality of locomotion in goldfish

Neumeister

Cellucci

Rapp

et al. 2004

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Goldfish swimming was analysed quantitatively to determine if it exhibits distinctive individual spatiotemporal patterns. Due to the inherent variability in fish locomotion, this hypothesis was tested using five nonlinear measures, complemented by mean velocity. A library was constructed of 75 trajectories, each of 5·min duration, acquired from five fish swimming in a constant and relatively homogeneous environment. Three nonlinear measures, the 'characteristic fractal dimension' and 'Richardson dimension', both quantifying the degree to which a trajectory departs from a straight line, and 'relative dispersion', characterizing the variance as a function of the duration, have coefficients of variation less than 7%, in contrast to mean velocity (30%). A discriminant analysis, or classification system, based on all six measures revealed that trajectories are indeed highly individualistic, with the probability that any two trajectories generated from different fish are equivalent being less than 1%. That is, the combination of these measures allows a given trajectory to be assigned to its source with a high degree of confidence. The Richardson dimension and the 'Hurst exponent', which quantifies persistence, were the most effective measures.

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Relationships Between Exploratory Behaviour and Fear: A Review

Cited by 159 publications

References 0 publications

Orphanin FQ acts as an anxiolytic to attenuate behavioral responses to stress

Orphanin FQ acts as an anxiolytic to attenuate behavioral responses to stress

Effects of lesions of the amygdala, pyriform cortex, and stria terminalis on two types of exploration by rats

Dynamical analysis reveals individuality of locomotion in goldfish

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