scholarly journals Behaviour, brain and body growth of guinea-pigs after prenatal growth restriction

1978 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Byrne ◽  
J. L. Smart ◽  
J. Dobbing ◽  
Jean Sands
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stem ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Prenatal Growth ◽  
Regional Brain ◽  
Unavoidable Shock ◽  
P Content ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Safe Side ◽  
Behavioural Tests

1. Guinea-pigs were growth-retarded in early life by feeding their mothers a restricted quantity of food during the second half of pregnancy. After birth, all animals were fed ad lib. Body-weights were recorded weekly and behavioural tests were made on adult males. The animals were then killed and their brains dissected into forebrain, cerebellum and brain stem. These regions were weighed and DNA-phorphorus content measured.2. At 14 weeks each male was paired with another male for 10 min on four consecutive days and their social behaviour scored. Tests 1 and 2 were on like-treatment pairs and tests 3 and 4 on unlike-treatment pairs. At 25 weeks the same animals were subjected to six graded series of brief, unavoidable shocks and their responses recorded. After 3 d, thresholds of aversion to electric shock were measured by recording the period of time spent on the ‘safe’ side of a rectangular box at five shock levels.3. Undernourished guinea-pigs were significantly lighter than controls at birth but not at adulthood. Regional brain weights and DNA-P content of previously-undernourished guinea-pigs were significantly lower than those of controls, with the greatest deficit in brain stem.4. Pairs of previously-undernourished guinea-pigs began to interact more quickly and threatened and nosed each other more often than pairs of controls. In mixed pairs previously-undernourished animals chased controls more than their control partners chased them. There were no differences between groups in responsiveness to unavoidable shock or in aversion thresholds.

scholarly journals Growth and body weight of free-range reindeer in western Alaska

Rangifer ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg L. Finstad ◽  
Alexander K. Prichard
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Total Body Weight ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Total Body ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Average Body

Total body weight of 9749 reindeer calves and 4798 adult reindeer were measured from 1984 to 1999 on the Seward Peninsula, western Alaska, USA. Growth rates of male and female calves, and annual growth patterns of adults were determined. Male calves grew faster than female calves. Reproductive females were lighter than non-reproductive females during summer but there was no effect of reproduction on average body weights the following winter. Adult males age 3-5 were heavier during summer than winter. Castrated males weighed the same as uncastrated males in summer, but were significantly heavier in winter, and did not display the large annual fluctuations in weight typical of reproductive males and females. Growth rates were higher and body weights greater in this herd than many other cir-cumpolar reindeer populations. We suggest these kinds of physiological indices should be used to monitor the possible effects of spatial and temporal variation in population density and to evaluate changes in herding practices.

The influence of frequency of cold-water bathing on the substance P content of the airways in the guinea pigs

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. S29
Author(s):  
T. Abe ◽  
S. Yoshihara ◽  
T. Ando ◽  
T. Ichimura
Keyword(s):  
Substance P ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
P Content

Adult males buffer the cortisol response of young guinea pigs: Changes with age, mediation by behavior, and comparison with prefrontal activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Hennessy ◽  
W. Tang Watanasriyakul ◽  
Brittany C. Price ◽  
Alexander S. Bertke ◽  
Patricia A. Schiml
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Adult Males

Nonuniform brain blood flow response to hypoxia in unanesthetized cats

1984 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1803-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Neubauer ◽  
N. H. Edelman
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Sympathetic Innervation ◽  
Brain Blood Flow ◽  
Intact Side ◽  
Flow Response ◽  
Regional Brain ◽  
Sympathetic Nervous ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Increased Blood Flow

In seven unanesthetized cats, radiolabeled microspheres were used to determine regional brain blood flow (rBBF) to the medulla-pons (M-P), midbrain-thalamus (M-T), cerebellum (Cb), and cortex (Cx) during three conditions: 1) control [arterial O2 tension (PaO2) = 81 Torr, arterial CO2 tension (PaCO2) = 26 Torr]; 2) hypocapnic hypoxia (PaO2 = 39 Torr, PaCO2 = 22 Torr); and 3) isocapnic hypoxia (PaO2 = 47 Torr, PaCO2 = 26 Torr). Hypoxia increased blood flow significantly more in the caudal brain stem (M-P) than in the Cx (P less than 0.05) during both hypocapnic hypoxia (M-P/Cx: +33/ +17 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) and isocapnic hypoxia (M-P/Cx: +13/ -2 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1). Since sympathetic innervation is greater anatomically to rostral than to caudal vessels, we examined the rBBF response to hypocapnic hypoxia in seven additional cats after unilateral superior cervical gangliectomy. All seven cats had a reduction in the cortical-to-caudal brain stem trend on the denervated side of the brain (M-P/Cx: +27/+28 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) compared with the intact side of the brain (M-P/Cx: +34/+24 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1) owing to both increases in Cx and decreases in M-P flows. We conclude that in unanesthetized cats hypoxia causes a greater increase in the caudal brain stem compared with cortical blood flow, and this differential response is related to modulation by the sympathetic nervous system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Physical and Physiological Indicators of Welfare in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) Serving as Ambassador Animals

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 815 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Powell ◽  
Corinne P. Kozlowski ◽  
John Clark ◽  
Alice Seyfried ◽  
Eli Baskir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Cavia Porcellus ◽  
Saint Louis ◽  
Physiological Indicators ◽  
The Public ◽  
Welfare Indicators ◽  
Glucocorticoid Response ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Physiological Profiles ◽  
The Impact

Special encounters that allow contact between animals and guests are common in zoos and aquariums. Visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo may touch guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals. We evaluated two welfare indicators in ambassador guinea pigs by comparing glucocorticoid levels and body weights between periods when guinea pigs lived in a habitat accessible to the public and while off exhibit. Mean glucocorticoid levels did not differ between sexes or between on- and off-exhibit periods. There was significant individual variation, and females demonstrated greater variation than males. While on exhibit, glucocorticoid levels slightly but significantly increased in males and decreased in females. Moving guinea pigs between habitats only elicited a significant glucocorticoid response when females were moved off exhibit. Temporary closures of the exhibit had no effect on glucocorticoid levels in either sex. Analyses of the impact of handling rates on males found no impact on glucocorticoid levels. Guinea pigs’ body weights were lower while on exhibit. We conclude that guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals at the Saint Louis Zoo demonstrate comparable physiological profiles while on and off exhibit and, when used in a rotational schedule, are a suitable species for animal encounters involving contact with the public.

Influence of cold and warm acclimation on neuronal responses in the lower brain stem

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1281-1289 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Hinckel ◽  
W. T. Perschel
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stem ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Metabolic Activation ◽  
Maximum Activity ◽  
Descending Pathways ◽  
Nucleus Raphe Magnus ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Raphe Magnus ◽  
Lower Brain Stem ◽  
Excitatory Responses

Neurons in two lower brain stem areas, the nucleus raphe magnus and the subcoeruleus region, have been shown to be part of the thermoafferent system. It is concluded from microcut experiments in unanaesthetized guinea pigs that inhibition of shivering caused by nucleus raphe magnus stimulation is mediated partly by ascending and partly by descending efferents of the nucleus raphe magnus. Electrical stimulation of the subcoeruleus area caused excitatory metabolic responses. Interruption of the ascending efferents of the subcoeruleus area did not prevent the metabolic activation. It is concluded that the excitatory responses are partly mediated by descending efferents of the subcoeruleus area. The descending pathways project mainly to motoneurone pools and to dorsal horn cells. In cold-acclimated guinea pigs, the average maximum activity of bell-shaped subcoeruleus cold-responsive units was reduced significantly in comparison with cold-responsive neurons in animals acclimated to normal room temperature. Furthermore, peak activity of warm-responsive units in the nucleus raphe magnus was larger in cold-acclimated animals than in animals acclimated to normal room termperature. These neuronal changes may contribute via descending lower loops and via ascending upper loops to long-term slope reduction of metabolic cold defence and shivering threshold displacements.

Effects of age and photoperiod on reproduction and the spleen in the marsh rice rat (Oryzomys palustris)

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (4) ◽  
pp. R1249-R1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent E. Edmonds ◽  
Milton H. Stetson
Keyword(s):  
Adult Male ◽  
Reproductive Organ ◽  
Spleen Weight ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Reproductive Response ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Marsh Rice Rat ◽  
Oryzomys Palustris ◽  
Older Males

To examine the interactions between age and photoperiod on reproduction and spleen weights, we exposed adult male and female rice rats of various ages to photoperiods of 16:8-h light-dark photoperiods (16L:8D) or 12L:12D. After 10 wk, animals were killed and the following data were recorded: weights of testes, seminal vesicles, uterus, ovaries, body, and spleen and, in addition, vaginal patency. Young adult males displayed a greater degree of testicular and seminal vesicle regression in short photoperiods than did older males; the testes of most older males did not regress in response to short photoperiods. Spleen weight was unresponsive to short photoperiods in all males, but was affected by age. Females, however, exhibited reproductive organ regression and decreased vaginal patency in response to short photoperiods at all ages examined. Body weights were affected by photoperiod in young females, and, as in males, photoperiod had no effect on spleen weights. These data suggest that the reproductive response to photoperiod in adult male rice rats declines with age, whereas in adult females it does not.

Audiological Study in Guinea Pigs with Type I Allergy Induced in the Inner Ear

1993 ◽  
Vol 102 (7) ◽  
pp. 537-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kengo Uno ◽  
Hironori Fukuda ◽  
Kenichiro Miyamura ◽  
Keisuke Masuyama ◽  
Yorinori Kanzaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Stem ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Type I ◽  
Auditory Brain Stem Response ◽  
Type I Allergy ◽  
Summating Potential ◽  
Auditory Brain Stem ◽  
Brain Stem Response ◽  
Specific Challenge

Time course studies of electrocochleography and the auditory brain stem response were performed in guinea pigs that were passively sensitized by sera containing antidinitrophenyl reaginic antibody and specifically challenged by dinitrophenyl—bovine serum albumin injected through the stylomastoid foramen. A negative summating potential on electrocochleography was observed from 12 to 48 hours, but not at 72 hours, after the specific challenge. A threshold increase on the auditory brain stem response was observed 15 minutes after the specific challenge; the threshold recovered to the prechallenge level within 7 days. Further, we used Tranilast, a blocking agent of chemical mediator release from mast cells, before the specific challenge. A negative summating potential and head deviation were not observed after the use of this agent. These results suggest that the auditory change provoked in the inner ear of the sensitized guinea pig may have been induced by type I allergy.

The effects of four, commercial ceruminolytic agents on the middle ear

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 479-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Mansfield ◽  
JE Steiss ◽  
TR Boosinger ◽  
AE Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Histological Examination ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Physiological Saline ◽  
Abnormal Finding ◽  
Inflammatory Reactions ◽  
Auditory Evoked Response ◽  
Hearing Function

Four, commercially available ceruminolytic agents and physiological saline were screened for ototoxic and inflammatory reactions on the middle ear mucosae of guinea pigs (n = 38) and dogs (n = 24). Each solution was injected transtympanically in anesthetized animals. The effects were assessed by brain stem auditory evoked response (BAER) tests to evaluate hearing function and by histological examination of the middle ear structures. Varying degrees of hearing loss and inflammation were observed in some guinea pigs and dogs treated with solutions A, C, and D, whereas no abnormal finding was associated with solution B or saline.

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