[Neurochemical research on the behavioral phenomenon of "parasitism" in rats]

Lipid content and free radical processes in brain cortex as well as cAMP content in frontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala were investigated in 20-month old male Wistar rats with different strategies of behaviour in a situation of competition for food and way of its procurance. Four groups of rats were selected in accordance with their strategies, the so-called "workers", "parasites", "inverters", and "lazy rats". Distinctions in brain lipid composition were revealed in animals of different groups. These distinctions were most clearly seen when the cortical lipid extracts from the left and right hemispheres were analysed separately. The content of cAMP was higher in the hypothalamus of "workers" than in this structure of "inverters". However, no intergroup differences were revealed in the content of cAMP in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and amygdala. Cross-correlation between cAMP levels in the frontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala revealed specific features of correlation of cAMP content in animals with different behavioural strategies.