Shock-elicited attack and biting as a function of chronic vs. acute insulin injection

Abstract

Two experiments investigating. the effects of chronic vs. acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on attack and biting behavior elicited by tailshock are reported. Chronic-injection subjects had blood-sugar level experimentally reduced by insulin for 29 days, including the day of shock testing. Acute-injection subjects received an insulin injection only on the day of testing. High levels of attack and biting behavior were shown in the single-animal shock-elicited aggression situation by the chronic subjects in both experiments. High response levels were shown by the acute-injection subjects only in Experiment 2. The lack of such responding in Experiment 1 was attributed to the different injection procedures used in the two experiments. The data are supportive of the proposed negative relationship between hypoglycemia and aggressive responding.

Alcoholic hypoglycemia as a result of acute challenges of ethanol

“…This appears to be a rather salient omission in light of a recently proposed negative relationship between blood-sugar level and aggressive responding. Both field studies (Bolton, 1973(Bolton, , 1976Bolton & Vadheim, 1973) and experimental studies in which blood-sugar levels were reduced via insulin injections (Davis, Cronin, Meriwether, Neideffer, & Travis-Neideffer, 1978;Davis, Gussetto, Tramill, Neideffer, & Travis-Neideffer, 1978;Neideffer, Travis, Davis, Voorhees, & Prytula, 1977) have lent support to this proposed relationship. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to initiate experimental investigators into the alcohol-induced hypoglycemia syndrome.…”

Shock-Elicited Aggression as a Function of Early Ethanol Exposure

“…The first study (13) in this series demonstrated that as blood-sugar level dropped (i. e., insulin dosage increased) aggression increased. Subsequent investigations replicated the existence of this negative relationship under different dosage levels (7) and under chronic versus acute injection conditions (6).…”

“…Inspired by a series of naturalistic reports by anthropologist Ralph Bolton (2,3,4) tentatively relating hypoglycemia (low blood-sugar level) and aggression, Davis and his colleagues (e.g., 6,7,13) have reported a series of studies designed to verify these observations experimentally. The basic procedure employed in these initial studies was to reduce blood-sugar level experimentally via an insulin injection and then test the animal S in the single-animal shock-elicited-aggression situation.…”

Active avoidance responding as a function of insulin-induced hypoglycemia

“…increased (Neideffer et al , 1977), (2) a curvilinear relationship appeared to exist between insulin dose and amount of attack and biting (Davis, Gussetto , Tramill, Neideffer , & Travis-Neideffer, 1978), and (3) chronic insulin-injection procedures did not lead to habituation or adaptation of attack and biting (Davis, Cronin , Meriwether, Neideffer, & Travis-Neideffer, 1978).…”