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Rapid effects of melatonin on hormonal and behavioral stressful responses in ewes
- Source :
- Psychoneuroendocrinology, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Elsevier, 2013, 38 (8), pp.1426-1434. ⟨10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.12.011⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2013
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2013.
-
Abstract
- Remerciements : INRA, UMR PRC Plate-forme CIRE 37380 Nouzilly; Sheep are gregarious mammals with complex social interactions. As such, they are very sensitive to social isolation and constitute a relevant animal model to study specifically the biological consequences of social stress. We examined previously the behavioral and endocrine responses in ewes isolated socially in the familiar conspecific withdrawal model (FCW) and showed that stressful responses increased and maintenance behaviors decreased, confirming that social isolation is a strong stressor in sheep. Melatonin synchronizes seasonal and circadian rhythms; and several studies reported its implication in cognitive processes as emotion. Here we investigated its role in the modulation of social stressful responses. Firstly, we studied ewes in the FCW model during the day (characterized by low melatonin levels) and the night (characterized by high melatonin levels). We found lower stressful responses (significant lower levels of cortisol plasma, number of foot pawings, of circling attempts) during the night as compared to the day. To investigate whether these effects were due to melatonin or to darkness, we submitted ewes to FCW during the night with lights on, a condition that suppresses melatonin secretion. Ewes infused with melatonin under these conditions showed decreased stressful responses (significant lower levels cortisol plasma, number of vocalizations, time spent with the head out of the cage) as compared to ewes infused with saline. These findings demonstrate that melatonin diminishes the endocrine and behavioral impact of social isolation in ewes and support the idea that melatonin has a calming effect in socially stressful situations.
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
sheep
[SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT]
Hydrocortisone
social isolation
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Photoperiod
cortisol
Melatonin
03 medical and health sciences
emotional behavior
0302 clinical medicine
Endocrinology
Internal medicine
medicine
Endocrine system
Animals
Circadian rhythm
Social isolation
Biological Psychiatry
Sheep, Domestic
030304 developmental biology
Social stress
0303 health sciences
Behavior, Animal
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Stressor
Darkness
calming effect
Circadian Rhythm
Psychiatry and Mental health
Female
medicine.symptom
Vocalization, Animal
Psychology
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Stress, Psychological
hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists
Hormone
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03064530
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Psychoneuroendocrinology, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Elsevier, 2013, 38 (8), pp.1426-1434. ⟨10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.12.011⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....bd6cac7d7e32138495d2be727791c329