Program & Abstract Book - EPFL Latsis Symposium 2009

EPFL Latsis Symposium 2009: Understanding Violence
58
P-4
February 11-13 2009
as s o c i a t i o n b e t w e e n e X p e r i e n c e o f
a g g r e s s i o n a n D a n X i e t y in m a l e m i c e :
ef f e c t s o f D i a z e p a m a n D b u s p i r o n e
Bondar, Natalia 1 ; Kudryavtseva, Natalia 1
1 Neurogenetics of Social Behavior Sector, Institute of Cytology
and Genetics SD RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia
The sensory contact technique increases aggressiveness in male mice and
allows an aggressive type of behavior to be formed as a result of repeated
experience of social victories in daily agonistic interactions. In the low aggressive
and high emotion mice of CBA/Lac strain, repeated positive fighting
experience leads to increased plus maze anxiety in the winners after
10 days of aggression experience and much more after 20 days. Aggressive
motivation in the winners was significantly increased as revealed by
parameters of partition test measuring behavioral reactivity to other conspecifics.
Thus, anxiety as a consequence of repeated experience of aggression
associates with the increase of aggressive motivation in CBA/Lac
mice. Repeated experience of aggression is accompanied by the increase
of anxiety and decrease of aggressive motivation in 20 days-winners of
high aggressive C57BL/6J strain. It was concluded, that 1. Repeated experience
of aggression provokes the development of anxiety in male mice.
2. The level of anxiety as well as it’s behavioral realization depends on the
duration of aggressive experience and genetic strain.
Anxiolytics buspirone (1 mg/kg, i.p) and diazepam (0.5 mg/kg, i.p) induced
anxiogenic effect and reduced aggression in the winners with 3
days experience of aggression. No significant effects of buspirone on aggressive
and anxious behaviors were found in mice with 20 days experience
of aggression. In this group of winners diazepam produced anxiolytic
and antiaggressive effects. Opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone (1 mg/
kg, i.p.) also had different effects in the winners with long and short experience
of aggression. It was hypothesized that previous aggression experience
modified animal sensitivity to drug treatment.
This work was supported by grant No. 07-04-00014 from the Russian
Foundation for Basic Research and grant MK-2109.2007.4 from Russian
Federation President in support of young scientists.