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Effect of noise on shock-elicited aggression in rats

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Abstract

ONLY a limited number of experiments have been designed to evaluate the effects of noise on aggression. As animal models of aggression are amenable to pharmacological and physiological analysis we have investigated the effect of noise on aggression in rats and have found an interesting non-monotonic relationship, with an increase in aggression at moderate noise levels but a decrease at high levels. The aggressive behaviour chosen for the present experiments was shock-elicited aggression in the rat. Two rats were paired in a small enclosure and subjected to a series of footshocks which elicit fighting, depending on the intensity, frequency and duration of electric shock1,2. This is a well documented and highly reliable form of aggressive behaviour that is usually considered a form of irritable aggression3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University Medical School,

    MICHAEL H. SHEARD, DAVID I. ASTRACHAN & MICHAEL DAVIS

  2. Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, Connecticut, 06508

    MICHAEL H. SHEARD, DAVID I. ASTRACHAN & MICHAEL DAVIS

Authors
  1. MICHAEL H. SHEARD
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  2. DAVID I. ASTRACHAN
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  3. MICHAEL DAVIS
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SHEARD, M., ASTRACHAN, D. & DAVIS, M. Effect of noise on shock-elicited aggression in rats. Nature 257, 43–44 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/257043a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/257043a0

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