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Sex effects in defensive behavior: Baseline differences and drug interactions |
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| Authors: | D. Caroline Blanchard Jon K. Shepherd Antonio De Padua Carobrez Robert J. Blanchard |
| Affiliation: | *Bekesy Laboratory of Neurobiology, University of Hawaii, USA †Department of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, USA ‡Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, USA §Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil |
| Abstract: | Female rats consistently show a pattern of differences in defensive behaviors compared to males which parallel the effects of exposure to a nonpainful threat stimulus (cat or cat odor) in the same tests and measures. These indications of greater defensiveness for females are particularly common in situations involving potential, as opposed to actual and present, threat, a factor which probably also reflects ceiling or floor effects in situations involving very intense defensiveness. In addition, pharmacological studies indicate sex differences in the effects of selective serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists and antagonists on defensive responding. These findings indicate that sex effects must be considered in studies of the pharmacological control of defensive behaviors, and suggest that responsivity to sex effects may be an additional criterion for the suitability of animal models of anxiety. |
| Keywords: | Sex differences Defensive behavior Anxiety Fear Risk assessment Animal model Serotonin Anxiolytics |
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