Sex Differences in Foraging Rats to Naturalistic Aerial Predator Stimuli.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zambetti PR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6593150 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Sex Differences in Foraging Rats to Naturalistic Aerial Predator Stimuli.
Zambetti Peter R PR Schuessler Bryan P BP Kim Jeansok J JJ
iScience 20190611
Rodents in the wild are under nearly constant threat of aerial predation and thus have evolved adaptive innate defensive behaviors, such as freezing or fleeing, in response to a perceived looming threat. Here we employed an ethologically relevant paradigm to study innate fear of aerial predators in male and female rats during a goal-oriented task. Rats foraging for food in a large arena encountered either a 2D or 3D looming stimulus, to which they instinctively fled back to a safe nest. When fac ...[more]
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