#41: Avoidance Expression of Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley Rats Following Overnight Fast — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

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#41: Avoidance Expression of Wistar-Kyoto and Sprague-Dawley Rats Following Overnight Fast

Name: Zach Kozmer
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Kenosha
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Miller, Dan
Type of research: Course project

Name: Giana Apostoli
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Kenosha
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Miller, Dan
Type of research: Course project

Name: Ali Rynders
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Muskego
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Miller, Dan
Type of research: Course project

Abstract

Interoceptive feedback to the brain about the physiological internal state of the body plays an important role in guiding behavior. A single overnight fast can reduce anxiety-like behavior in rats, as assessed in the elevated plus-maze, open field tests, and acoustic startle and light-enhanced startle responses in rats. This reduction in anxiety appears to be an adaptive response to negative energy balance as it promotes exploratory and food seeking behaviors thus increasing the likelihood of body energy repletion. However, very little is understood about the biological and behavioral mechanisms through which physiological state influences behavior in the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat, a model for stress vulnerability. The WKY rat exhibits behavioral inhibition (BI), a temperament characteristic associated with increased vulnerability to stress when compared to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, which serve as non-behaviorally inhibited (NBI) controls. Previous research has demonstrated that WKY rats exhibit superior avoidance performance in a signaled lever press avoidance task in which a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) signals a foot shock unconditioned stimulus (US) relative to NBI controls. The current study tested the hypothesis that an overnight fast affects lever press avoidance responding. We tested this by examining the effect of an overnight fast in female WKY (n = 8) and SD (n = 8) rats on signaled lever press avoidance. While the overnight fast did not impact avoidance behavior in WKY rats, fasting significantly increased avoidance performance in SD rats. However, total lever presses during the avoidance period was significantly increased in both WKY and SD rats following overnight fast. Our results support the view that physiological state plays an important role in influencing behavior and is the first demonstration that a single overnight fast can enhance avoidance responses in non-behaviorally inhibited SD rats to the level of avoidance demonstrated by behaviorally inhibited WKY rats.

Poster file