The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of neonatal handling on learned helplessness (LH) model of depression in the rat. We also investigated the effect of neonatal handling on behavior in an open field test of emotionality. The handling procedure reduced helplessness behavior, with a decrease in the number of escape failures, an increase in the number of avoidance response...

Market weight pigs are subjected to numerous stressors during the marketing process from loading at the farm to stunning at the packing plant. These stressors have important implications for animal well-being and fresh pork quality traits. The objectives of this presentation are to review: 1) pre-harvest stressors in pigs; 2) common measures of stress during handling and transportation; and 3) ...

Studies of physiology can provide important insight into how animals are coping with challenges in their environment and can signal the potential effects of exposure to human activity in both the short and long term. In this study, we measured the physiological and behavioural response of little penguins (Eudyptula minor) that were naïve to human activity over 30 min of capture and handling. We...

BACKGROUND Any surgical procedure can be associated with altered intestinal function. The mechanism involved in these changes at the cellular level during surgical stress has not been worked out. This study looked at the biochemical and functional alterations, along with ultrastructural changes, in the intestine during surgical stress in a simple rat model. METHODS Surgical stress was induced...

Prolactin plays an important role in mediating parental care in birds, but little is known about changes in prolactin levels when animals disrupt their reproductive behaviour during emergency life-history stages. We investigated the variation of prolactin levels with breeding stage, sex, body condition and as a response to a standardized acute stressor in a small short-lived bird, the Eurasian ...

BACKGROUND Surgical stress is associated with altered intestinal function. Our earlier study using a rat model indicated that oxidative stress plays an important role in this process. Since mitochondria are crucial to cellular function and survival and are both a target as well as a source of reactive oxygen species, the present study looks at the changes in enterocyte mitochondria during surgi...

Work-related stress has a strong influence on the health of workers. Occupational health care has an important role in assessing and managing this stress in collaboration with enterprises. The methods to reduce stress can be directed at the individual and at the organization as a whole. There is little information about stress handling methods in occupational health practices. This study aims t...

The stress responses of mice and rats has been shown to be permanently altered by brief, gentle handling during the first 10 d of life, resulting in increased BW and resistance to stress-induced immunosuppression. The purpose of this study was to determine whether early handling of turkey poults could permanently affect production values and physiology of adult turkeys. Turkey poults were handl...

The effects of four different levels of wood betony (WB) (Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl) extract (0, 2, 4 and 8% W/W in the diet) were investigated on some serum enzymatic activities and acute stress response of juvenile common carp (Cyprinus carpio). After 10 weeks post feeding, two groups of fish (0 and 8% WB) were subjected to handling and crowding stress and the stress responses including ser...

Circadian rhythms in the Syrian hamster can be markedly phase shifted by 3 h of wheel running or arousal stimulation during their usual daily rest period ("subjective day"). Continuous wheel running is predictive but not necessary for phase shifts of this "nonphotic" type; hamsters aroused by gentle handling without running can also show maximal shifts. By contrast, physical restraint, a standa...