Behavioral correlates of renal damage and cardiac changes

The locomotor activity (determined by open-field test) and analgesic response (measured by tail-flick latency) of rats were evaluated during exposure to novel stimuli and again after exposure to shock. The effects of shock stress on hearts and kidneys were evaluated. This study has found that the more active an animal is when exposed to a novel stimuli the more likely it is to develop renal damage or cardiac changes after shock. Shock stress was found to produce changes in locomotor activity and analgesic state, but shock did not correlate as well with cardiac changes as did the animal's response to novel stimuli. A novel system of evaluating renal damage, which correlated to behavioral changes and organ damage, is described.