Behavioral and electrocardiographic responses to social stress in male rats

Telemetry ECGs were recorded from Wistar male rats during social stress induced by exposure to aggressive lactating female rats. Behavioral response to maternal attack was evaluated in terms of relative duration of passive submissive (p/s) and active/nonsubmissive (a/ns) patterns. A decrease of R-R interval (R-R) compared to baseline conditions was found, significantly more pronounced than that observed in control animals exposed just to novel environment. R-R variability during social stress was positively correlated with the amount of p/s behavior. R-R fluctuations, episodes of II degree A-V block, and ventricular arrhythmias were also observed. Most R-R fluctuations and II degree A-V blocks were temporally associated with phases of p/s behavior and periods of high R-R variability. Ventricular arrhythmias generally appeared during a/ns behavior and were temporally linked with periods of low R-R variability. Ventricular arrhythmias, low R-R variability, and concomitant a/ns behavior might be related to an increased sympathetic activity. R-R fluctuations and II degree A-V blocks, associated with high R-R variability and p/s behavior, might be related to a predominant inhibitory effect of vagal activation (accentuated antagonism).