[Open-field behavior of rats following bilateral coagulation of the locus coeruleus]

A modified open-field test was used in the experiments on rats. It was shown that animals 6 days after bilateral coagulation of locus coeruleus displayed weight changes and some behavioural parameters distinct from those of sham-operated and control animals. The most pronounced differences observed in animals after locus coeruleus coagulation, as compared to the control, were inversion and adaptive responses to a sudden brief stimulus, locomotor dysfunction and absence of response to handling.