Effects of previous housing conditions on shock-induced aggression
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Creer, T L
- Source
- Subject
- Aggression
Male
Electroshock
Time Factors
Social Isolation
Age Factors
Animals
Humans
Environment
Social Environment
Research Article
Rats
- Language
- English
This study investigated shock-induced aggression as a function of housing rats in single or communal cages for varying periods of time before testing. Rates of fighting were unaffected by housing conditions when rats spent seven or 14 days in either of these settings before testing. Placing rats in these settings for 21 or 28 days before testing, however, did affect rates of fighting. Communal caging of subjects for 28 days before testing was particularly deleterious to shock-induced aggression. How rats are housed outside the experimental chamber is a variable affecting shock-induced aggression and should be considered both in designing future studies and as a topic for future investigation.