Agonistic Postures Elicited by Subdermal Shock in Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans Rats

Abstract

Different agonistic postures were elicited by subdermal shock in Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats. 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-mA shocks were used. All postures were reliably identified by independent observers at greater than chance levels, although absolute agreement between observers was relatively poor for several postures. Long-Evans rats engaged in more aggressive postures than Sprague-Dawley animals. Agonistic postures were more frequent with 2-mA shocks in Long-Evans rats, while 3-mA shocks elicited more agonistic postures in Sprague-Dawley rats. Subdermal shock appeared to produce less variability than has been reported in previous studies where grid shock was used.