Honors Theses
Date of Award
1-1-2006
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
First Advisor
Kenneth J. Sufka
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
RALPH BROOKS VANCE, JR: The Effect of Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Nociception on Distress Vocalizations and the Anxiolytic Efficacy ofDrugs in the Chick Separation Stress Paradigm. (Under the direction ofKenneth J. Sufka)
The effects ofstress on pain perception have been well studied, but only limited research has been conducted on the opposite relationship, the effect ofpain on stress level. Femandez-Guasti (2005) found that nociception caused by uric acid injections, attenuated the anxiety-like behavior ofrats in both the elevated plus maze and in the burying behavior test. Additionally, they discovered that the anxiolytic effectiveness of buspirone and diazepam were weakened by the mild nociception. The purpose ofthis study was to apply the same research question to a different animal model in order to test whether the effects ofpain on stress and drug efficacy found by Femandez-Guasti (2005) generalize to an alternate animal model. Six-day-old chicks received intra-plantar injections of.25% carrageenan based on the inflammatory model published by Roach and Sufka (2003). Two hours post carrageenan injection, the chicks underwent 180 sec testing session either in isolation or with conspecifics in the chick separation stress paradigm (Sufka and Weed, 1994; Sufka and Hughes 1994; Feltenstein et al 2004). Fifteen minutes before the test session chicks received i.p. injections of either vehicle (.9% physiological saline), chlordiazepoxide (8 mg/kg), imipramine (10 mg/kg) or prophylactically (two hours before carrageenan injection) administered dexamethasone (2 mg/kg). After the stress test session, the chicks underwent both an edema test, which measures paw volume, and a nociception test, which measures paw withdrawal latency to a noxious thermal stimulus. Carrageenan produced robust edema and nocicetive effects while also attenuating distress vocalizations in the separation stress paradigm. Dexamethasone and imipramine attenuated both carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia in the nociception test and distress vocalizations ofnon-inflamed chicks, but not those of carrageean inflamed chicks, in the separation stress paradigm. Chlordiazepoxide was the only drug that attenuated the distress vocalizations ofboth inflamed and non-inflamed chicks. From this study it appears that carrageenan inflammation causes a competing response with isolation from conspecifics in the separation stress paradigm, causing fewer distress vocalizations. Additionally, the anti-nociceptive and anxiolytic capablities of drugs such as dexamethasone and imipramine compete with one another, making the ability to adequately measure their anxiolytic efficacy difficult under inflammatory nociception and separation stress.
Recommended Citation
Vance, Ralph Brooks Jr., "The Effect of Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Nociception on Distress Vocalizations and the Anxiolytic Efficacy of Drugs in the Chick Separation Stress Paradigm" (2006). Honors Theses. 2795.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2795
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