Corticosterone response in the chick separation–stress paradigm (original) (raw)
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Pre- and post-hatching effects of corticosterone treatment on behavior of the domestic chick
Hormones and Behavior, 2006
We investigated the effect of 60 ìg of corticosterone administered to domestic chicks either before or after hatching on the behavioral response to isolation in a novel arena and performance in a task involving the simultaneous identification of food and detection of a predator (overhead silhouette of a hawk moving overhead). Following release into a novel arena, chicks treated with corticosterone at 18 days of incubation emitted more distress vocalizations. In contrast, no difference in the number of vocalizations was found between chicks treated with corticosterone at day 1 post-hatching and controls. Behavior in the home cages was generally similar across treatments, though chicks treated with corticosterone at 18 days of incubation slept less than control chicks. While searching for grain against a background of pebbles, chicks treated with corticosterone at embryonic day 18, but not chicks treated on day 1 post-hatching, took longer to detect the overhead image of a predator than did controls. Corticosterone treatment at both ages increased the rate of pecking at grains and pebbles. Our findings support work on other birds indicating that corticosterone treatment during incubation influences stress reactivity. The impairment in predator detection in chicks treated with corticosterone on day 18 of incubation appears to be caused by the known effects of corticosterone treatment at this age in preventing the development of lateralization of the thalamofugal visual projections. This further supports the hypothesis that brain lateralization provides an advantage in performing more than one task simultaneously.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2007
Previous experiments indicate that artificial elevation of egg corticosterone content prior to incubation may increase fear of humans, reduce the willingness to compete with conspecifics and reduce the growth rate of chicks hatching from these eggs. It can also be hypothesized that corticosterone-treated chicks might be more sensitive to the effects of stress after hatching. Accordingly, we tested the effect of embryonic corticosterone exposure (5.5 ng/ml egg) and intermittent handling after hatching on the behaviour and growth of 88 vehicle-treated (40 males and 48 females) and 88 corticosterone-treated (40 males and 48 females) chicks. The injection treatment did not have any significant effects on tonic immobility (P 0.23), but tended to increase the male's willingness to feed in a competitive environment (P 0.10). However, post-hatch handling increased the duration of tonic immobility in corticosterone-treated birds but not in controls (P 0.01), as reflected in the interaction between the injection and handling treatments (P 0.01). Intermittent handling but not corticosterone treatment reduced the willingness of male birds to eat in a competitive situation, but neither treatment affected this behaviour in females. The present results suggest that the effect of embryonic corticosterone exposure may be dependent on the hormone dosage and the environment to which birds are exposed after hatching.
Hormones and Behavior, 2012
Animal vocalizations convey multiple pieces of information about the sender. Some of them are stable, such as identity or sex, but others are labile like the emotional or motivational state. Only a few studies have examined the acoustic expression of emotional state in non-human animals and related vocal cues to physiological parameters. In this paper, we examined the vocal expression of isolation-induced stress in a songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Although songbirds use acoustic communication extensively, nothing is known to date on how they might encode physiological states in their vocalizations. We tested the hypothesis that social isolation in zebra finches induces a rise of plasma corticosterone that modifies the vocal behavior. We monitored plasma corticosterone, as well as call rate and acoustic structure of calls of males in response to the playback of female calls of varied saliences (familiar versus stranger) in two situations: social isolation and social housing. Social isolation induced both a rise in plasma corticosterone, and a range of modifications in males' vocal behavior. Isolated birds showed a lower vocal activity, an abolition of the difference of response between the two stimuli, and evoked calls with longer duration and higher pitch. Because some of these effects were mimicked after oral administration of corticosterone in socially housed subjects, we conclude that corticosterone could be partly responsible for the isolation-related modifications of calls in male zebra finches. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the direct implication of glucocorticoids in the modulation of the structure of vocal sounds.
Corticosterone Responses in Wild Birds: The Importance of Rapid Initial Sampling
The Condor, 2002
Corticosterone concentrations in birds usually rise in response to capture and handling, and it is often assumed that this change is predictable. We tested this assumption by leaving Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii), House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), and Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) in nets or traps for 15 min following capture and comparing their corticosterone response over the next 60 min with birds removed immediately. White-crowned Sparrows and House Sparrows left in mist nets for 15 min and then bled had significantly elevated corticosterone concentrations compared to controls that were immediately removed from the net and bled. Corticosterone concentrations over the next 45 min of handling and restraint were similar between groups. In another experiment, White-crowned Sparrows and Lapland Longspurs were captured using seed-baited Potter traps. The corticosterone response of White-crowned Sparrows left in the trap for 15 min did not differ from White-crowned Sparrows removed immediately. Leaving Lapland Longspurs in the trap had no effect in the initial 10 min of handling and restraint, but at 30 and 60 min these birds had significantly lower corticosterone concentrations than longspurs removed immediately from the trap. These data indicate that failing to immediately remove birds from nets or traps can alter the corticosterone response to subsequent stressful stimuli in unpredictable ways. This result emphasizes that the elapsed time from capture is a critical variable in assessing stress responses in free-living birds.
Poultry Science, 2002
The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of sex on central benzodiazepine receptor (CBR) and serum corticosterone (CS) responses to an acute stressor in broiler chicks. Birds were housed in ten mixed-sex groups of eight chicks per cage. At 15 d of age, chicks were taken from a randomly selected cage and blood was immediately sampled (undisturbed controls), or they were taken from the same cage and immersed up to their necks in warm water (partial water immersion, PWI) for 15 min before blood was sampled. After blood sampling, forebrains were dissected for preparation of membranes, and bird sex was determined by gonadal inspection. Se
Neuroscience Letters, 2014
Designer drugs have become a distinct social problem and health hazard in Europe and the US, and their abuse has increased dramatically in the last decade. Selective effects of these agents on animal behavioral parameters may help in better understanding of the potential risks of human drug abuse. In the present study, the effects of three different abusive agents of the cathinone family, mephedrone, butylone and 3,4 methylene-dioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) were tested in young domestic chicks, following administration of single intraperitoneal injections (10 mg/bwt). Early maturing (precocial) birds are particularly suited for investigation of isolation stress-related behavioral response and stereotypic or targeted pecking. Both mephedrone and MDPV increased the frequency of distress calls of socially isolated birds as measured over a period of 10 min. While this effect of mephedrone was only evident in the first half of observation period, an increase with MDPV was more lasting. Though increased non-distress vocalization, butylone failed to enhance distress calls probably due to a general adverse effect on muscle tone. Apart from its effect on distress vocalization, mephedrone did not alter the behavior of chicks. However, both butylone and MDPV showed prominent behavioral changes, which were examined in another set of long term experiments, over a period of 120 min. Butylone caused hyperventilation and a robust impairment of postural control, whereas neither the wakeful activity level, nor the pecking frequency were significantly affected. Conversely, no hyperventilation or postural disorder were observed with MDPV, however, both waking state and pecking were significantly enhanced. The results may be relevant to potentially different and specific effects of cathinone drugs under stressrelated conditions, as well as on other physiological and behavioral parameters, even in case of closely related compounds.
Journal of Field Ornithology, 2008
Recent studies indicate that young seabird chicks exposed to relatively short periods of elevated levels of plasma corticosterone may suffer lifelong cognitive impairment that is detrimental to their survivorship and fitness as adults. We examined the chronic effects of investigator disturbance on the baseline and acute stress-induced levels of plasma corticosterone of Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) chicks in Chiniak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska, in 2005. Kittiwake chicks were assigned to one of three disturbance treatments: (1) routine handling, (2) exposure to investigator presence, but not handled, and (3) neither handled nor exposed to investigator presence prior to sampling. At 12-15 d posthatching, blood samples were collected to determine baseline and stressinduced concentrations of corticosterone. We found no significant differences in baseline or stress-induced levels of corticosterone among the three disturbance treatments. Our results suggest that Black-legged Kittiwake chicks do not perceive investigator presence as a stressor. However, investigators studying kittiwakes at other locations should proceed with caution because sampling protocols and environmental conditions may differ, potentially causing chicks to perceive disturbances differently as well. SINOPSIS. Efecto del disturbio causado por el investigador en la concentración de corticosterona en Rissa tridactyla Estudios recientes indican que las aves marinas jovenes expuestas a cortos periodos de niveles elevados de corticosterona en el plasma, pudieran sufrir de impedimentos cognitivos a través de su vida, que es detrimental para su supervivencia y adaptabilidad como adultos. Examinamos los efectos crónicos causados por el disturbio de investigadores, en los estresores básicos y agudos, inducidos por altos niveles de corticosteronas en el plasma de pichones de Rissa tridactyla. El estudio se llevó a cabo en la bahía Chiniak, Isla Kodiak, Alaska durante el 2005. Los pichones objeto del estudio, fueron asignados a tres tratamientos de disturbio: (1) manejo rutinario, (2) exposición a la presencia del investigador, pero en donde no hubo manipulación del pichón y (3) ausencia del investigador y manejo, previo al manejo rutinario. Entre los 12-15 días de edad, se tomaron muestras de sangre para determinar los niveles básicos de corticosterona y de aquellos inducidos por estrés. No se encontró diferencia significativa entre los niveles básicos de corticosterona, o los inducidos por estrés, entre los tres grupos estudiados. Nuestros resultados sugieren que los pichones de Rissa no persiven como estresante, la presencia de un investigador. Sin embargo, los investigadores que estudien a estas aves en otras localidades, deben proceder con cautela porque los protocolos de muestreo y las condiciones ambientales pudieran ser diferentes, con el potencial de causar que los pichones persivan el disturbio de forma diferente.