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Temperamental development in the rat: the first year.

Jeremy Ray1, Stefan Hansen

  • 1Department of Psychology, Göteborg University, Box 500, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. jeremy.ray@psy.gu.se

Developmental Psychobiology
|September 2, 2005
PubMed
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Behavioral development in Wistar rats shows consistent harm avoidance across ages. Juvenile rats are more exploratory and anxious, while adult rats exhibit novelty-seeking behavior.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior
  • Behavioral Genetics

Background:

  • Understanding behavioral development is crucial for interpreting animal model research.
  • Wistar rats are a common model organism, but their developmental trajectory requires detailed study.
  • Behavioral continuity and change across the lifespan inform experimental design and interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate behavioral continuity and change in Wistar rats from juvenile to adult stages.
  • To characterize age-related differences in exploration and anxiety.
  • To identify underlying temperamental dimensions across the rat lifespan.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty-two Wistar rats (16 male) were tested at multiple ages (6, 11, 16, 21, 37, 52 weeks).
  • Behavioral assessments included the hole board test (exploration) and canopy test (anxiety).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Principal components analysis was used to identify temperamental dimensions.

    • Main Results:

    • Juvenile rats (compared to 16-week-olds) displayed higher anxiety and exploration.
    • Mature rats showed increased anxiety and decreased exploration.
    • Significant behavioral consistency was observed from week 6 to 52, particularly between weeks 11 and 52.
    • Harm avoidance was a consistent temperamental dimension across ages.
    • Adult rats exhibited an additional dimension of novelty seeking.

    Conclusions:

    • Wistar rat behavior undergoes significant developmental changes, particularly in exploration and anxiety levels.
    • Harm avoidance is a stable trait, while novelty seeking emerges in adulthood.
    • These findings provide critical insights into the developmental psychobiology of Wistar rats, essential for their use in research.