A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENDOGENOUS BRAIN TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE AND SOCIAL DOMINANCE BEHAVIOR OF RATS.
Item
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Title
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A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENDOGENOUS BRAIN TYROSINE HYDROXYLASE AND SOCIAL DOMINANCE BEHAVIOR OF RATS.
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Identifier
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AAI8401485
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identifier
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8401485
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Creator
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SALMAN, SHERRY L.
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Contributor
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Jay M. Weiss | Richard Bodnar
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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A significant body of experimental work has focused on the neurochemical correlates of experimenter-induced stressful conditions, such as electric shock. However, relatively little research has explored the neurochemical correlates of behavior in the natural, social environment of a species. Therefore, the present study asked the question: are there differences in endogenous catecholamine activity among rats in a population which are related to social dominance behavior?;Male hooded rats were left undisturbed in a large colony enclosure while they established a dominance hierarchy. Behavioral observations were scored on various measures of agonistic behavior and dominance ranks computed for each animal. Tissue samples were then taken of locus coeruleus (LC), hypothalamus, substantia nigta, olfactory tubercles, amygdala, caudate, and frontal cortex. These regions were then assayed for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity. Correlations were determined between brain TH and dominance rank for four colonies of rats. The position of an animal in the dominance hierarchy consistently correlated highly with TH activity in the LC. No significant relationship was found between TH and dominance in the dopaminergic brain regions. In addition, only winning at 'broadsiding', a threat behavior, was significantly correlated with TH, again in the LC, across colonies. These data suggest that brain noradrenergic function is related to social dominance in rats.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
