Valium Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Valium, including details on diazepam, depression, side-effects, withdrawal.

Persistent anxiety-like behavior in marmosets following a recent predatory stress condition: reversal by diazepam.

Barros M, Giorgetti M, Souto AA, Vilela G, Santos K, Boas NV, Tomaz C

Primate Center and Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of Brasilia, CEP 70910-900 Brasilia, DF, Brazil. mbarros@unb.br

Initial investigations indicated the use of the Marmoset Predator Confrontation Test (MPCT) as an experimental procedure to measure fear/anxiety-related behaviors in non-human primates. However, possible long-term habituation effects and re-use of experimental subjects need to be verified. This study, therefore, compared the behavioral response of experienced versus naïve adult black tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) in the MPCT, with/without diazepam administrations. Subjects were tested in the figure-8 maze and confronted with a taxidermized wild-cat predator stimulus. After four initial 20-min maze habituation sessions, each subject was submitted to two randomly-assigned 20-min predator confrontation sessions: vehicle and 2 mg/kg of diazepam. Confrontation with the predator induced significant behavioral changes; i.e., proximic avoidance and tsik-tsik alarm call. Diazepam administration, concomitant to predator exposure, reversed the behavioral changes observed. In both the experienced and naïve marmosets a similar behavioral profile and response pattern to diazepam was detected, corroborating the important selective pressure that felines seem to have on marmoset behavioral ecology. Therefore, during a more naturalistic-like regimen--i.e., recurring intermittent predator encounters--the general response pattern remains highly consistent, regardless of prior experience. One may consider the re-use of marmoset subjects in the MPCT, particularly under these specific conditions (i.e. repeated 20-min confrontations, 72-h apart).

Published 4 June 2007 in Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 86(4): 705-11.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Valium Research Today. All Rights Reserved.